American Student Assistance (ASA) recently awarded FoundationCCC with a two-year grant totaling $250,000, marking a significant milestone as the first organization to receive a research grant from ASA. This funding will support novel research that explores dual enrollment students and work-based learning courses to understand student success, equity gaps, and how these courses help students explore their career options.

Dual enrollment programs allow students to enroll in community college courses and earn credits toward both a high school diploma and a college degree. These programs also help students prepare for the rigors of college coursework and have been shown to improve graduation rates. Dual enrollment can also help prepare students for the workforce by providing work-based learning experiences. While dual enrollment programs offer great potential, they have not always been equally accessible to all students. 

This grant will help FoundationCCC conduct a mixed-methods research project on dual enrollment student performance in work-based learning courses, understating the types of work-based learning activities faculty are implementing into their courses. Additionally, it will help identify systematic barriers, track long-term educational and career outcomes for diverse student populations, and develop recommendations for improving dual enrollment program accessibility moving forward. 

“The Success Center at the Foundation for California Community Colleges is proud to be the first research project funded by ASA. Our project on career-connected activities in courses taken by California community college dual enrollment students will introduce a new dimension of understanding into the student experience. We hope our findings will be the catalyst for local and state conversations across the nation to ensure career-connected activities provide dual enrollment students with equitable work-based learning experiences and help inform policy and programmatic changes that improve access and success for students who historically have been underserved by our educational systems.” — Nadia Leal-Carrillo, Executive Director, Policy Development and Research, Success Center, FoundationCCC

FoundationCCC’s Student Success Center’s strategically aligned resources and expertise support the Chancellor’s Office on several key initiatives, including actively assisting local colleges in developing and executing comprehensive dual enrollment plans. ASA’s support highlights our shared commitment to innovative educational research to transform learning experiences for students from all backgrounds. 

Explore the full list of awardees >