July 2017

Higher Education

Required Components of CCC Guided Pathways Programs

Clarify Paths to Student End Goals
● Simplify students’ choices with default program maps that show students a clear route to completion, further education, and employment.
● Establish transfer pathways—and maximize transfer of community college credits— by aligning courses and expected learning outcomes with transfer institutions.
Help Students Choose and Enter a Pathway
● Bridge secondary and postsecondary education by ensuring early remediation in the final year of high school.
● Provide advising and support services that help students transition from high school, explore academic and vocational fields, choose a major, and develop a comprehensive academic plan.
● Align basic skills coursework with a student’s major and adopt other evidence-based remediation practices.
Help Students Stay on Track
● Implement systems to monitor students’ progress, identify students at risk of not progressing, and intervene promptly with advising and other academic supports.
● Embed supports throughout student programs to promote learning and persistence.
Ensure Students Are Learning
● Establish program-level learning outcomes aligned with requirements for employment and further education. Use the results of learning assessments to improve the effectiveness of instruction across programs.
● Integrate group projects, internships, and other applied learning experiences to enhance instruction and student success in courses.
● Ensure effective teaching practice throughout the pathways.