DOI
10.9707/1944-5660.1531
Key Points
This article examines lessons learned as part of the continued development of the Get2College Pilot School Program, an initiative of the Woodward Hines Education Foundation, designed to test a strategy for increasing college enrollment among Mississippi students through greater college exploration opportunities and application and financial aid supports.
While a review of the first three years of the pilot found it had an impact on college-going culture at its eight participating schools, Get2College found no significant increase in college enrollment over the 2016–2018 academic years and a retrospective analysis revealed flaws in the program’s design and theory of change. In response, the foundation partnered with a consultant to refine its strategy for a second phase of the pilot. Among the results of this partnership were four major lessons for the foundation: Begin with a commitment to engagement between school districts and school administrators; create a “college team” at each school to embed support for enrollment and completion; build a strong theory of change and evaluation method; and customize support strategies to regional contexts and individual schools.
These lessons from the Get2College Pilot School Program can be of value to other foundations considering a transition from direct intervention to systemic change in their approach to college enrollment and completion support.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Hanauer, K., Sneed, S., & DeBaun, B. (2020). Emergent Learning: Increasing the Impact of Foundation-Driven Strategies to Support College Enrollment and Completion. The Foundation Review, 12(3). https://doi.org/10.9707/1944-5660.1531
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