College Access & Success
RFA has quickly built a national reputation for conducting research and evaluation that focuses on how best to improve college access and success for underrepresented groups. Our work ranges from:
- evaluations of innovative scholarship interventions such as Say Yes to Education;
- to strategic advice to foundations on how to build their college access and success grantmaking strategy;
- to providing assistance to school districts as they develop strategies in response to the growing pressure to ensure that students graduate from high school ready for college.
Selected Activities
- Member, Mayor’s College Ready Work Team – Philadelphia, PA
- Chair, Pennsylvania Transfer and Articulation Committee – Harrisburg, PA
- Member, Board of Trustees, Lincoln University – Philadelphia, PA
- Member, Board of Trustees, University of Pittsburgh – Pittsburgh, PA
- Member, Mayor’s Committee on Postsecondary Success – Philadelphia, PA
- Member, Board of Governors, Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education – Harrisburg, PA
- Member, Pennsylvania Gear Up Research Advisory Board – Harrisburg, PA
Selected Projects
The Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN) is overseeing 11 Student Success Centers, which are located in the city’s comprehensive high schools and designed to assist students to get and stay on track to college. RFA is conducting a mixed-methods evaluation focused on examining the scope and depth of services offered, as well as tracking key educational outcomes.
In October 2009, Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN) launched a pilot GED to College (GTC) initiative. Four unique providers, Congreso de Latinos Unidos, District 1199c Training and Upgrading Fund, People for People, Inc. (PFP), and Youth Empowerment Services (YES), were selected by a panel of PYN staff and local stakeholders to provide GED preparation, coordinate GED testing, and provide college preparation to a cohort of GTC students. After conducting pilot research on this initiative, RFA is continuing its evaluation of these efforts, with a particular focus on examining its impact on student attendance and success in college.
The College Access Foundation distributes scholarships to California college students via an extensive network of community-based organizations (CBOs). RFA is working with the Foundation to examine current CBO capacity to serve as community resources for information about attending and graduating from college; and we are assisting the Foundation in developing strategies to increase CBO capacity to do so.
SYTE is a tuition guarantee program that provides students and families from low-income neighborhoods with college or other post-secondary training. RFA is collaborating with the SYTE staff to conduct a multi-year implementation and outcomes evaluation of the program serving the most recent Philadelphia cohort which involves 50 families and their school-aged children.
GEAR UP is a national initiative whose major goal is to increase significantly the proportion of low-income students successfully continuing their education at institutions of higher education. RFA worked in partnership with the School District of Philadelphia, colleges and universities, and community-based organizations to assist, document, describe and assess efforts to encourage middle and high school students towards this goal. Enhancing academic support, increasing college awareness, and encouraging family and community involvement are major activity focus areas.
