EUGENE, Ore.—More students will stay in college and graduate from Lane Community College thanks to a five-year, $2.22 million Title III Strengthening Institutions grant from the Federal Department of Education.
The grant will fund Lane’s CAREERS (Comprehensive Advising, Readiness for Employment, and Education Retention Strategies) project to implement a Guided Pathways framework. Guided Pathways is a nationwide movement in higher education to give students clearer paths through college and into careers. The idea has been around for years but is gaining momentum as data continue to show its effectiveness in improving retention and completion rates.
Guided Pathways emphasizes a structured and supportive student experience. Students get help setting goals, choosing a program of study, and developing an academic and financial plan. They get support throughout their enrollment including progress checks and feedback.
The grant will allow Lane to expand First Year Experience peer mentoring services to all credit students, link career services more closely to work-based learning experiences, address the varied needs of a community college student with a holistic approach, provide onboarding, implement an early alert system for students in academic jeopardy, and improve institutional data resources.
All student populations will benefit, including those seeking an associate degree, career technical students, dislocated workers, adults returning to school or work, four-year transfer students, and high school students.
Overall, Lane hopes to improve its year 1 to year 2 retention rate from 55 percent to 63 percent and its graduation/completion rate from 12.3 percent to 21 percent.
For more information about Lane Community College:
Lane is an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabilities Employer
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Lane Community College educates over 25,000 students annually at six locations across Lane County and online. Students and alumni from all 50 states and 79 countries create more than an $850 million dollar impact on the local economy, helping to support more than 13,000 local jobs. Lane provides affordable, quality, professional technical and college transfer programs; business development and employee training; academic, language and life skills development; and lifelong personal development and enrichment courses.