Increasing Degree Attainment of Low-Income Community College Students

Given that the nationwide three-year graduation rate for community college students is about 30 percent (National Center for Education Statistics), it is extremely important to understand what types of services have the biggest impact on outcomes like credit attainment, graduation rates, and employment. To meet this need, we propose an evaluation of One Million Degrees (OMD), a Chicago non-profit that provides professional, personal, financial, and academic supports to community college students in Chicago. The University of Chicago Urban Labs, in partnership with OMD, will work to generate gold-standard evidence through a randomized controlled trial about the overall impact of the OMD program on educational and labor market outcomes. The proposed study will provide crucial data to policymakers and school officials as they seek to most efficiently target resources to increase graduation rates and support students.