Practical Model for the Community College

Documenting student outcomes is a priority for higher education institutions. Federally-mandated graduation rates are often used as the sole measure of student success. However, this measure fails to document outcomes for students with multiple educational objectives and career paths. Driven by this challenge, the City Colleges of Chicago developed a practical tool to document multiple student outcomes in retention, graduation, transfer, baccalaureate degree attainment, and successful course completion for six years. This six-year longitudinal study utilizes institutional data, National Student Clearinghouse data, earnings data, and statistical modeling to create a comprehensive analysis of student success at the community college. Research findings have been used to enhance instructional and student support services.