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Outcomes

CCA’s sprawling network of higher-ed reformers is reshaping the college experience, which means more college degrees and meaningful credentials for tens of thousands of students across the country.

Graduating students in red caps and gowns preparing for commencement at a college or university.

53

states, systems, and consortia participating in the CCA Alliance

1.5x

rate of improvement in community college graduation rates for CCA Alliance members relative to non-Alliance members since 2015

10%

increase in credentials and degrees awarded by the CCA Alliance since 2015

“Complete College America continues to serve as an essential partner in our work around equity as well as student access and success, which go hand-in-hand. Montana has been an Alliance Member for almost a decade, and during that time CCA has provided the road map for our system’s completion agenda.”

Complete College America logo featuring a professional male leader promoting college success initiatives.

Clayton T. Christian

Commissioner of Higher Education, Montana University System

How We Drive Impact

CCA believes the most effective way to increase graduation rates is to help colleges and universities re-shape their policies, perspectives, and practices. But our ultimate goal is to increase economic opportunity, social mobility, and racial justice.

Policy

KEY WINS:

  • CCA’s 2015 testimony to the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions highlighted the urgency of addressing our nation’s college completion crisis through proven strategies including Corequisite Support and 15 to Finish/Stay on Track.
  • CCA helped drive policy in many states, including Georgia where the Complete College Georgia initiative has nearly doubled on-time graduation rates for community college students.
  • CCA policy work and data sharing, especially around measures like time-to-degree and credits-to-degree, have influenced financial-aid formulas, helping students afford full-time attendance and ultimately leading to jumps in on-time graduation rates.
  • Indiana saw a 30 percent increase in bachelors, associate, and certificate attainment after working with CCA to introduce incentives to promote full-time students taking 15 credits per semester along with policies requiring degree mapping and credit caps.
  • Thanks to CCA advocacy, legislation like the Complete College Tennessee Act requires that institutions be evaluated on student success metrics rather than enrollment.

“The collaboration CCA fosters is critical to the student success movement. The ideas and data shared through the CCA Alliance empower policy leaders to garner the support of their peers, institutions, and communities.”

Joe Garcia

Chancellor, Colorado Community College System, Former Lt. Governor of Colorado

Perspective

KEY WINS:

  • Advocated for the replication of Corequisite Support and Math Pathways across the nation, working with multiple states to create the conditions for change required to implement the strategies at scale.
  • Partnered with the National Governors Association to create Common Completion Metrics—a standardized approach to data that served as a precursor to the Postsecondary Partnership.
  • CCA’s Common Completion Metrics prompted the University of Hawaii to create the first 15 to Finish/Stay on Track campaign, which CCA then helped scale to hundreds of institutions.
  • Led the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s $10 million Completion Grant Challenge, which spurred innovative strategies to increase graduation rates, then scaled those tactics at institutions across the country.

Practice

KEY WINS:

  • With the ongoing support of CCA, Colorado has more than doubled its on-time completion rate for its community college students thanks to reforms ranging from tech-enabled pathways to curricular innovations.
  • In the last five years, the CUNY system—a leading CCA Alliance member—experienced a 70% increase in on-time graduation rates for two-year colleges, and a 20% increase in credential attainment across the system.
  • Through advising innovations and guided-pathways-based reforms, Georgia State University increased its graduation rate by 23 points under the leadership of CCA Fellow Tim Renick.
  • West Virginia quadrupled the number of students passing college-level introductory Math following the implementation of Corequisite Support.

4x

the number of West Virginia students passing college-level introductory Math following the implementation of Corequisite Support

23pt

increase in graduation rates at Georgia State University under the leadership of CCA Fellow Tim Renick

Ready to Make a Difference? Join Us.


Complete College America is restoring the promise of higher education by advocating for forward-thinking policies, identifying effective strategies, and advancing proven tactics that guarantee more students earn college diplomas or credentials that prepare them for success. If you’d like to see communities with more economic opportunity, greater social mobility, and real racial justice, we hope you’ll join us today.

Let’s Get To Work