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Summary

Accelerated Study in Associate Programs Ohio (ASAP Ohio) provided community college students with up to three years of financial, academic, and personal supports to address barriers to success.

Modeled on the ASAP program at the City University of New York (CUNY), academic supports included enhanced advising, career development services, and tutoring. Financial supports included a tuition waiver, assistance with textbook costs, and a monthly financial incentive. Personal supports included a first-year student success seminar that included strategies for goal setting, study skills, and career and academic planning.

Academic and financial supports were provided throughout the three-year program. Students were required to enroll full time and encouraged to enroll immediately in remedial coursework, as needed, and to take summer courses. Students were required to graduate within three years of enrollment and to enroll in a consolidated schedule, blocked courses, or both.

Participants had to be eligible for a Pell Grant, seeking a degree, and enroll full-time in a three-year program. The program was implemented at three community colleges in Ohio.

101045-Study of Accelerated
Populations and employment barriers: At least a high school diploma or equivalent

Effectiveness rating and effect by outcome domain

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Outcome domain Term Effectiveness rating Effect in 2024 dollars and percentages Effect in standard deviations Sample size
Increase earnings Short-term Not supported unfavorable $-3,244 per year -0.089 1482
Long-term Little evidence to assess support favorable $2,442 per year 0.067 1482
Very long-term Supported favorable $3,682 per year 0.101 1482
Increase employment Short-term Little evidence to assess support favorable 0% (in percentage points) 0.002 1482
Long-term Little evidence to assess support unfavorable -1% (in percentage points) -0.016 1482
Very long-term Little evidence to assess support unfavorable 0% (in percentage points) -0.007 1482
Decrease benefit receipt Short-term Cannot assess support
Long-term Cannot assess support
Very long-term Cannot assess support
Increase education and training All measurement periods Supported favorable 10% (in percentage points) 0.193 1501

Effectiveness ratings

  • Well- supported
  • Supported
  • Mixed support
  • Not supported
  • Insufficient evidence
  • Cannot assess support

Studies of this program

Study quality rating Study counts per rating
High High 1
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Implementation details

Dates covered by study

ASAP Ohio enrolled participants between January 2015 and January 2016. Data collection occurred through 2023, with outcomes measured over a six-year follow-up period.

Organizations implementing program

Cincinnati State Technical and Community College; Cuyahoga Community College; Lorain County Community College

Populations served

Study participants were individuals seeking post-secondary degrees in Ohio who were Pell Grant eligible and willing to enroll full-time in a college for the three-year program. On average, study sample members were 23 years old at random assignment. A majority of participants were female (64 percent) and working full-time at enrollment (59 percent). About one-third (34 percent) of participants were the first in their families to attend college. Forty-six percent of participants were White non-Hispanic, and 35 percent of participants were Black. 

Description of services implemented

ASAP Ohio had five key components:

  • Enhanced advising. In their first semester, students were required to meet twice a month with program advisers and to attend a first-year student success seminar. After the first semester, advisers sorted students into three groups based on need for support, with varying advising requirements. Students in the high-need group were required to meet more frequently with their adviser.
  • Career development services. Students were required to complete at least one career service activity per semester, which could include career services meetings, career assessments, internships, or job search skill-building workshops.
  • Tutoring. Students were required to attend at least three hours of academic tutoring per month, with options including on-campus, online, peer or family member, or ASAP program tutors.
  • Course enrollment supports. Students were offered priority registration and blocked courses to allow participants to take courses together.
  • Financial supports. Students whose tuition and fees were not fully covered by their financial aid were granted waivers to cover the difference. Students received financial support for textbooks (at least $300 for fall and spring semesters and $150 for summer). Students who met participation requirements received a monthly $50 gas or grocery gift card incentive.

Service intensity

ASAP Ohio provided up to 3 years of academic and financial assistance. The frequency of adviser meetings varied based on assessed student need. Adviser caseloads were limited to 125 students.

Comparison conditions

The comparison group was students at the same colleges who were randomly assigned not to participate in ASAP Ohio but could access standard advising and support services offered by the colleges.

Partnerships

The study did not indicate any partners beyond the colleges implementing ASAP Ohio. ASAP Ohio program staff had technical assistance available from ASAP CUNY staff.

Staffing

Each college implemented ASAP Ohio independently with their own dedicated staffing. Staff included the advisers and a program director who supervised advisers and was responsible for data management and reporting to the college provost or vice president. Implementing colleges had brief quarterly meetings facilitated by the Ohio Department of Higher Education and a ASAP CUNY technical assistance team.

Fidelity measures

The study did not discuss any formal tools to measure fidelity to the program model. The study did assess the extent to which the program model components aligned with or were adapted from the ASAP CUNY model and requirements and the extent to which students participated in the program’s services.

Funding source

ASAP Ohio was funded during the study period by The Ascendium Education Group (anchor funding) and grants from a variety of other philanthropies, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the ECMC Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Haile U.S. Bank Foundation, KnowledgeWorks, the Kresge Foundation, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, and the Lumina Foundation.

The information contained here reflects how the program was implemented at the time of the evaluation.

Local context

ASAP Ohio was implemented and studied in Cincinnati, OH (Cincinnati State Technical and Community College); Cleveland, OH (Cuyahoga Community College); and Elyria, OH (Lorain County Community College).

Characteristics of research participants
Black or African American
35%
White, not Hispanic
46%
Another race
2%
More than one race
7%
Hispanic or Latino of any race
10%

The race and ethnicity categories may sum to more than 100 percent if the authors reported race and ethnicity separately; in these cases, we report the category White, rather than White, not Hispanic.

State(s) where implemented

AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY Canada

Pathways to Work refers to programs by the names used in study reports or manuscripts. Some program names may use language that is not consistent with our style guide, preferences, or the terminology we use to describe populations.