New York – Teams from five states came together this week with members of the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) and The City University of New York’s (CUNY) Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) | Accelerate, Complete, and Engage (ACE) National Replication Collaborative for the launch of a new college completion learning community. 

In early September, SHEEO and CUNY kicked off the new learning community, including five $50,000 state planning grants for Colorado, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Washington, to help states replicate a proven model for student success. The learning community will guide states in creating action plans to close equity gaps and increase college completion rates at their state’s community colleges. 

The convening, held Nov. 2-3, in Manhattan and on the campus of Borough of Manhattan Community College, provided an opportunity for peer networking and collective engagement in initial technical assistance activities to support strategic planning for state-scaled ASAP replication projects.

A fireside chat discussion held Thursday evening set the tone for the convening and the conversations to follow. CUNY Chancellor Dr. Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, The State University of New York (SUNY) Chancellor Dr. John B. King Jr., and Secretary of Higher Education Dr. Brian Bridges with the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, joined moderator Dr. John Lane, SHEEO vice president for academic affairs and equity initiatives, to discuss ASAP replication as an equity imperative. 

“CUNY’s successful Accelerated Study in Associate Programs has been replicated by 14 institutions across seven states, a testament to the program’s ability to help students on a nationwide scale boost graduation rates and ultimately increase more students’ economic mobility,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “CUNY is pleased to work with the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association and other partners to replicate ASAP across five additional states and beyond, an effort that can be key to addressing the country’s persistent equity gaps in degree attainment rates.”

U.S. Department of Education Under Secretary James Kvaal gave a keynote address in support of completion and student success models like CUNY. Other sessions of the two-day convening focused on coalition building and making the return on investment case, aligning ASAP replication to state higher education priorities, planning for equity-based, state-scaled replication projects, and sustainable budgeting and productive funding models.

“State higher education leaders continue to identify completion as essential to statewide attainment goals, and CUNY ASAP’s strategies to improve completion, particularly among minoritized populations, will contribute to state planning to scale and sustain solutions,” said Dr. John Lane, SHEEO vice president for academic affairs and equity initiatives. “SHEEO is pleased to partner with the Accelerated Study in Associates Program and the states in the ASAP replication learning community to promote policies and practice that support student achievement through improved attainment.” 

The ASAP|ACE model was established by the CUNY system in 2007 and was designed to break down barriers to degree completion, particularly for CUNY’s low-income students. The model’s holistic, comprehensive suite of financial, academic, and personal services has served more than 88,000 CUNY students. The approach has been shown to more than double graduation rates for ASAP students over comparison groups in nearly every evaluation completed on the program. 

The SHEEO and CUNY College Completion Learning Community will continue to meet virtually through 2024 to establish a plan for next steps in initiating systems-scaled ASAP replication projects.For additional information, visit the SHEEO project website at
https://sheeo.org/project/asapcommunity/. To learn more about the CUNY|ASAP National Replication Collaborative, visit www.cuny.edu/asapreplication

Five states receive grants to join new learning community

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) has kicked off a new learning community, including five $50,000 state grants, to help states replicate a proven model for student success. 

SHEEO and the City University of New York’s (CUNY) Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) | Accelerate, Complete, and Engage (ACE) National Replication Collaborative are excited to announce their partnership to form a new learning community that supports replication of the CUNY ASAP|ACE model to increase community college completion rates at scale. With generous support from private funding, SHEEO and CUNY ASAP|ACE will partner with higher ed leaders in Colorado, New Jersey, North Carolina, Michigan, and Washington as they create action plans to close equity gaps and increase college completion rates at their state’s community colleges. Each state system will receive planning grants as well as consultative strategic planning and technical assistance to create a sustainable model within each state’s unique context as they explore scaled replication for future replication program launches. 

The ASAP|ACE model was established by the CUNY system in 2007 and was designed to break down barriers to degree completion, particularly for CUNY’s low-income students. The model’s holistic, comprehensive suite of financial, academic, and personal services has served more than 88,000 CUNY students. 

The approach has been shown to more than double graduation rates for ASAP students over comparison groups in nearly every evaluation completed on the program. A cost-benefit study conducted by the Center for Benefit-Cost Studies in Education (CBCSE) at Teachers College, Columbia University, found the program cost effective and that it realized a high return to taxpayers. Additionally, a recent analysis conducted by MDRC of the ASAP replications at three Ohio community colleges demonstrated increased earnings of program students by 11%, adding to the evidence base that the model has significant long-term impacts on participating students.  

“The replication collaborative supports our belief that scaling proven student success models across states is possible,” said Rob Anderson, president of SHEEO. “The CUNY ASAP model has already been replicated in several states, and we hope to give our members a chance to join this exciting effort.”

“CUNY has demonstrated that implementing the ASAP model at scale can meaningfully boost system-wide completion rates and produce notable efficiencies,” said Christine Brongniart, university executive director of CUNY ASAP|ACE. “We look forward to sharing what we’ve learned about scaled program implementation with other leaders who are committed to addressing equity gaps and transforming their state system’s completion culture.”

Much has been learned over the last several years about the most effective approaches to increasing attainment and their integral connection to state priorities. The College Completion Coalition Learning Community will provide a forum for states to reflect on what’s working, refine their strategies, and identify areas for cross-state collaboration. It will also help engage new policymakers and stakeholders in efforts to increase college completion and become more familiar with state college completion goals. A key objective of this project is to work with states to address racial equity gaps in attainment rates (with a focus on Black and Latinx students) through strategic scaling of the ASAP model. 

For additional information, visit the project website at https://sheeo.org/project/asapcommunity/. To learn more about the CUNY|ASAP National Replication Collaborative, visit www.cuny.edu/asapreplication.

About SHEEO

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) serves the executives of statewide governing, policy, and coordinating boards of postsecondary education and their staffs. Founded in 1954, SHEEO promotes an environment that values higher education and its role in ensuring the equitable education of all Americans, regardless of race/ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic factors. Together with its members, SHEEO aims to achieve this vision by equipping state higher education executive officers and their staffs with the tools to effectively advance the value of higher education, promoting public policies and academic practices that enable all Americans to achieve success in the 21st century, and serving as an advocate for state higher education leadership. For more information, visit sheeo.org. 

About CUNY

The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation’s first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City’s five boroughs, serving 275,000 students and awarding 55,000 degrees each year.