While the study — released last week by the National College Access Network — is limited in that it only examined two dozen member organizations and not under the most rigorous of standards, proponents say the study still represents an important step toward enabling the college access field to tell its story with data and not just anecdotes.
“These results support the conclusion that NCAN’s members are making progress toward closing the college knowledge, opportunity, and completion gaps for the students they serve,” states the study, titled “Closing the College Graduation Gap: 2014 National College Access and Success Benchmarking Report.”
Faith Sandler, executive director of the Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis, which was one of the participants in the study, says the results show that college access providers can make a difference and that “poverty is not destiny.”
“We’ve been saying that for years in this country and now we have the proof,” Sandler said.
The study — conducted by NCAN in conjunction with the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center — examined enrollment and completion outcomes for students in 24 NCAN member programs and compared the results to outcomes for students in a variety of socioeconomic situations.
In terms of enrollment, the study found that, for the Classes of 2007 through 2009, NCAN students — who are typically low-income students of color who are the first in their families to attend college — enrolled in college at rates of between 70 and 71 percent.
