Community College Success Initiative

We look to address the challenges that community college students face by developing new programs and supporting existing programs and policies at the local and state level that will eliminate systemic barriers for them to graduate, transfer and obtain a bachelor’s degree. CCSI is a combination of direct support and systems change strategies to provide immediate relief for students, paving the way for future students to get through community college efficiently and effectively.

In California, the graduation rates for LatinX and Black students stand at 14% and 9%, respectively, within a four-year span of community college completion. In contrast, 17% of white students and 21% of Asian students achieve this milestone in the same timeframe.

• The impact on a student and their families’ long-term earning power potential and pathways to generational wealth building declines when they are unable to graduate or transfer from community college and this is why CCSI was born. Community college is a critical break or make moment for students and their families and we aim to support this critical moment. 
• Students who do eventually transfer are likely to earn degrees. Students who end up transferring from a community college to a UC school have graduation rates that are like those of first-time freshmen, and transfers to CSU have better graduation rates than first-time CSU freshmen (79% vs. 61% for students admitted in 2012) 
• A college degree has economic benefits across all demographic groups. Average earnings for full-time, year-round workers in each of the state’s largest racial/ethnic groups are about twice as high for college graduates as for high school graduates.