Current Research

As part of the statewide Talent Strong Texas Pathways strategy, the Texas Success Center has launched a research agenda to inform policy, improve community college practice, develop practitioner-oriented guidance and tools, and provide training, technical assistance, and professional development. Projects are selected to support the ongoing efforts of Texas Pathways colleges as they redesign the student experience.

Texas Playbook

The Texas Success Center collaborated with three Leader Colleges to develop professional development and resources to support 16 Texas community colleges in launching new 8-week terms better serve part-time students and to improve retention and credential completion. Funded by the Trellis Foundation, the Texas Playbook is a one-stop tool-kit designed to support colleges in scaling and institutionalizing 8-week terms to provide efficient and flexible program pathways.

 

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Enrollment and Success in Texas Community Colleges

A collaboration with the Texas Schools Project

The coronavirus pandemic caused massive disruption in higher education, with documented decreases in enrollment and a shift towards online and hybrid modes of instruction. To understand the extent to which the pandemic affected students at Texas community colleges, the Texas Schools Project used administrative data to conduct a descriptive analysis of enrollment, completion, and course and program delivery for entering student cohorts from Fall 2015 through Fall 2020, following them for five semesters after matriculation. 

Read on to see what we learned!

 

 

Student Mental Health

Student Mental Health in Texas Community Colleges

A collaboration with the Texas Schools Project and RAND 

Attending to student mental health in community colleges is imperative for supporting student success. The results of the research collaboration with the Texas Schools Project, housed at the University of Texas at Dallas, and RAND highlight actionable findings to support enhancements to mental health systems and structures in Texas community colleges.

Commentary: Community Colleges Need Guidance and Money to Meet Today's Mental Health Challenge

 

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Progress Scaling Texas Pathways: Results from the 2023 Scale of Adoption Assessment
 

The Texas Pathways strategy supports Texas community colleges to scale guided pathways practices associated with improving student success. The research-based strategy organizes college efforts to redesign the student experience into four pillars:

Pillar 1: Mapping Pathways to Student End Goals
Pillar 2: Helping Students Choose and Enter a Pathway
Pillar 3: Keeping Students on a Pathway
Pillar 4: Ensuring that Students are Learning

These research briefs provide insights into the implementation of the essential practices in each pillar as measured by the Scale of Adoption Assessment (SOAA) administered to 48 Texas community colleges in Spring 2023.

 

 

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Basic Needs Insecurity in Texas Community Colleges

Basic needs insecurities affect students enrolled in Texas community colleges. In this research report funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Texas Success Center provides a landscape analysis of basic needs insecurity supports across colleges. The findings provide leaders with valuable insights about how to integrate basic needs supports into the comprehensive Talent Strong Texas Pathways strategy to support student wellness, belonging, and success.

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Dual Enrollment Equity Pathways (DEEP)

During this three-year research partnership, the Texas Success Center is working with the Community College Research Center (CCRC) as they develop research-based guidance materials and analytic tools. These resources will support scaling of efforts by community colleges and K-12 schools in Texas to increase college-going and success for Black, Latinx, low-income and other underserved students by aligning dual enrollment offerings with ongoing whole-college Texas Pathways reforms.

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Community College Research Fellows

Community College Research Fellow Projects - Cohort 2

The Community College Research Fellows contribute action-oriented findings to our knowledge development base. Together, with their mentors, and with guidance from the KDSC, each cohort of fellows work on pathways research projects. 

The second cohort of fellows completed research projects aligned with the Texas Pathways Knowledge Development Agenda to support improvements across the state.

Channell Cook, M.S., M.S. | Lee College

Susan Goll, M.A. | Houston Community College

Michelle Lamons | Amarillo College

Jordan Utley, Ph.D. | Grayson College

Jackson Yan, Ph.D. | The University of Texas at Austin

 

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Ability to Benefit (AtB)

The Texas Success Center is partnering with World Education, Inc. to conduct action-oriented research to increase the number of colleges utilizing ATB. Expert consultants, Dr. Tamara Clunis and Michelle Lamons of Amarillo College, will lead the work to develop resources based on research and collaboration with national ATB experts. 

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Texas Schools Project Collaboration

The Texas Success Center is partnering with the Texas Schools Project, housed at the University of Texas at Dallas, to support a multi-pronged research agenda with the primary goal of informing and supporting the pandemic recovery efforts of Texas community colleges. 

The research projects will examine:

  1. pandemic recovery efforts,
  2. student mental health supports, and
  3. understanding challenges and responses to part-time student study.

As partners, the Texas Success Center will ensure that the research is responsive to the needs of Texas community colleges.

Mental HealthPandemic Recovery Part-time Students 

 

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Labor Market Insights
 

Phase 1: State Pathways

The Texas Success Center partnered with EMSI-Burning Glass to identify 15 key occupations in the state. The research team then built skills-based career maps to highlight opportunities for training and career progression.

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Phase 2: Regional Pathways

Building on the framework from the statewide key occupation applied research project, the Texas Success Center continued its partnership with Lightcast (formerly EMSI-Burning Glass) to identify key occupations by region. The research team then developed skills-based career maps to highlight regional opportunities for training and career progression.

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Community College Research Fellow Projects - Cohort 1

The Community College Research Fellows contribute action-oriented findings to our knowledge development base. Together, with their mentors, and with guidance from the KDSC, each cohort of fellows work on pathways research projects. 

The first cohort of fellows completed research projects aligned with the Texas Pathways Knowledge Development Agenda to support improvements across the state.

Ibrahim Bicak, Ph.D. | The University of Texas at Austin

Research in Higher Education | Predictors of Math Course Repetition: The Role of Horizontal and Vertical Repetition in Success Among Community College Transfer Students

Marisol Garza, Ph.D. | The University of Texas at Austin & Houston Community College

Laura Lane-Worley, Ph.D. | Lee College

 

 

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