Motor City Momentum: Three Years of the Detroit Promise Path Program for Community College Students. Executive Summary

Postsecondary education is widely seen as a necessity in the modern economy. Yet students at community colleges often face steep odds when it comes to completing a degree. Community colleges serve many low-income and first-generation students as well as students of color, all of whom must contend with many obstacles to success. At the same time, two-year colleges are severely underfunded, and therefore are unable to provide the level of personal support that many students require. MDRC and the Detroit Regional Chamber partnered in 2016 to create the Detroit Promise Path (DPP), an evidence-based student services program designed to help more Detroit high school graduates--among the nation's most underserved students--enroll and persist in college, accumulate credits, graduate, and potentially transfer to a four-year program. DPP builds on an existing scholarship program called the Detroit Promise, launched in 2013, which covers community college tuition and fees for up to three years of attendance. At the heart of DPP are campus coaches who help students acclimate to college, proactively reach out to them with help and reminders about tasks and deadlines, and offer a sympathetic ear to young people who may be grappling with personal challenges--all with the goal of keeping them in school and on track to graduate. This executive summary presents an overview of findings from MDRC's randomized controlled trial evaluation of DPP at five Detroit community colleges. [Additional funding for this report was provided by the Michigan Education Excellence Foundation. For the full report, see ED611769.]