Grant Recipient: San Mateo County Community College District
Term: 2017 –2019
Funding: $836,607
Summary: Skyline College in San Bruno, California is implementing the Accelerated Study in Associates Programs (ASAP) model for all full-time incoming students, using dedicated local (non-LJAF) funding. ASAP is a comprehensive community college program that provides students with academic, personal, and financial supports. An earlier randomized controlled trial (RCT) of ASAP at CUNY found that the program nearly doubled three-year graduation rates in a population of primarily low-income students with modest basic skills deficits (22 percent of the control group graduated versus 40 percent of the treatment group). These effects on college completion are far larger than identified in any previous well-conducted RCT in postsecondary education.
Skyline anticipates enrolling 500 students per year in ASAP, but the number could rise as the benefits of ASAP incentivize more students to attend full time. The ASAP program at Skyline will become part of a larger Skyline College Promise initiative aimed at increasing overall student success and college completion by removing financial barriers, restructuring the curriculum, and providing intensive academic and personal support services to students.
LJAF’s grant is funding a Skyline-CUNY partnership under which CUNY is providing Skyline College with technical assistance to ensure implementation of ASAP with high fidelity to the program model.
