College Success

According to a study from the University of Georgetown, there will be 55 million job openings in the economy through 2020: 24 million openings from newly created jobs and 31 million openings due to Baby Boomer retirements. Of these openings, 65% will require education beyond high school. This makes college degree attainment more important than ever. However, college achievement is skewed: Students who have been systemically locked out of higher education (e.g., students of color, first-generation, low-income) face significant barriers enrolling in, attending and graduating from college.

As a result, while 70% of students from high-income families earn a bachelor's degree by age 25, only 12% of students from low-income families manage to do the same. Overwhelmingly, most low-income students begin their postsecondary education at community colleges. Yet, nationally of all students who begin at a community college, only 14% transfer and complete a bachelor's degree within six years.

At ECMC Foundation, we aim to increase the number of students from historically and presently underserved backgrounds who persist through and graduate from an institution of higher education with a bachelor’s degree. Understanding that many of our students begin their postsecondary pathways at community colleges, we actively engage in opportunities to invest in transfer success.

College Success invests in postsecondary programs and initiatives that:

• Improve and scale systemic reforms and supports to increase student success at postsecondary institutions.
• Increase currently enrolled students' persistence toward a degree.
• Support on-time transfer from two-year to four-year institutions.
• Enhance students’ pathways to graduation with career-ready skills.
• Elevate new research findings and publications that promote student success outcomes.

Learn more about our College Success grantee partners.