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As noted at the Guided Pathways Initiative site at the Center for Community College Research (CCRC) at Teachers College, Columbia University, “Guided Pathways is a “whole-college redesign model designed to help all students explore, choose, plan, and complete programs aligned with their career and education goals efficiently and affordably. Hundreds of colleges are implementing guided pathways reforms to improve student completion rates, close equity gaps, and increase enrollments in an increasingly competitive environment.”
The movement seeks to streamline a student’s journey through college by providing structured choice, revamped support, and clear learning outcomes— with the aim to help more students achieve their college completion goals. The reform recognizes that the current self-service model of community colleges leads many students to unintended dead ends or unforeseen detours in the form of excess or out-of-sequence credit.
The guided pathways model is comprised of 14 different practices. There are four pillars of guided pathways:
One reason Guided Pathways is so challenging to implement is the lack of clarity around what it is —the pillars outline broad principles but leave the specifics of implementation up to interpretation by the colleges.
Nearly 400 community colleges are implementing guided pathways reforms as part of formal national or statewide initiatives in 16 states, while many other colleges are doing so on their own. Colleges support and encourage students exploring their own interests and aspirations.
The CCRC released two evaluations of the guided pathways model in March 2024. As reported in Inside Higher Ed, the two studies offer insights about the ways colleges are implementing guided pathways and which combinations of reforms appear to be linked to early academic momentum for first-time college students.
American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Study: Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the study tracked how 30 community colleges across 17 states adopted guided pathways as part of a national initiative launched in 2015 by AACC, as well as tracking student outcomes.
The AACC study found that guided pathways take time and coordination to implement—colleges generally took at least 5 years to put a guided pathways model in place. Of the 30 colleges that participated:
Colleges that fully scaled up guided-pathways practices saw notable increases in several student success outcomes 5 years after implementation. Key findings:
National Science Foundation Study: The second study examined early student success metrics at 62 community and technical colleges between 2010-2020 in Tennessee, Ohio, and Washington—all with statewide guided pathway initiatives. The study examined the association between guided pathways practices and fall-to-fall persistence, college credits earned in the first year, college math credits earned in the first year, and STEM credits earned in the first year. Key findings:
The 2015 book, Redesigning America’s Community Colleges (Thomas Bailey, Shanna Smith Jaggars, Davis Jenkins) spearheaded the movement for colleges to undertake wholesale restructuring of their programs and student supports. Since the book's publication, there has been growing evidence on how to effectively implement guided pathways, promote equity, and measure impacts on students.
https://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/publications/redesigning-your-college-guided-pathways.html
https://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/research/guided-pathways.html
https://learnworkecosystemlibrary.com/subcategory/stackable-credentials/
Minaya, V., and Acevedo, N/ (2024, March). Whole-College Reforms in Community Colleges: Guided Pathways Practices and Early Academic Success in Three States. CCRC Working Paper No. 136
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