News, Facts, and Media 

Distance matters for transfer students
| December 7, 2024 | Santa Maria Times |
The Santa Maria Times published an op-ed from Kevin G. Walthers, PhD, Superintendent and President of Allan Hancock College and member of the advisory committee for The RP Group research project, Exploring Geographic Isolation as a Barrier to Equitable Transfer Outcomes. The article expresses Dr. Walthers'' perspective and cites our research about the impact of geographic barriers to transfer for California community college students.

The RP Group and ECMC Foundation Announce Partnership to Advance Groundbreaking Research on Rural Learners
December 4, 2024 | PR Newswire |
The RP Group is proud to announce an important new project in collaboration with the ECMC Foundation. As part of ECMC’s inaugural Rural Impact Initiative, the RP Group has been awarded a grant to support a research project, Uncovering the Programs, Policies, and Practices That Disrupt Disparities in Transfer from Community College to University Among Rural Learners. Out of over 100 proposals submitted to ECMC’s call for projects under this initiative, fewer than ten were accepted, highlighting the significance and potential impact of this work.

Community college students far from a four-year university are less likely to transfer, study says
October 24, 2024 | EdSource |
Article features information from our geographic barriers project that shows that students located in “university education deserts” lag closer-in peers’ transfer rates. Dr. Darla Cooper, Executive Director of The RP Group was quoted.

New Research Emphasizes Importance of College Proximity
October 29, 2024 | Inside Higher Ed |
Article features our geographic barriers research. The article underscores studies from both Texas and California that show that distance plays an outsize role in students’ academic outcomes, especially for certain minority students. Dr. Daisy Segovia, Senior Researcher of The RP Group was quoted.

Community College Students Serve As Basic Needs Support Guides For Peers
January 10, 2024 | LAist |
Article cites findings from the Real College California: Basic Needs Among California Community report, by the Community College League of California and The RP Group.

Community college students serve as basic needs support guides for peers
January 3, 2024 | EdSource |
Article cites findings from the Real College California: Basic Needs Among California Community report, by the Community College League of California and The RP Group.

Support programs help El Camino lead the charge among community college’s with high transfer rates
December 13, 2023 | The Union |
Article highlights The RP Group’s “Take Charge of Your Transfer Success” student resource. Paul Feist, the vice chancellor for communications and marketing for the California Community College Chancellor’s Office, is quoted saying the resource “is invaluable for college students looking to transfer.”

California Makes Strides Toward Improving HBCU Transfer Pathway For Community College Students
November 29, 2023 | LAist |
Article referencing our October 2023 African American Transfer Tipping Point (AATTP) report, which shared results from our survey of over 7,000 African American/Black current and former California Community college students regarding their transfer experiences. In addition, Dr. Darla Cooper, Executive Director of The RP Group, was quoted in the article.

Strengthening Community College Student Transfer
​November 14, 2023 | Inside Higher Ed |
Special feature highlighting results from our October 2023 report as part of our African American Transfer Tipping Point (AATTP) study, which identified that African American/Black students who complete transfer-level English and math in their first year, receive academic counseling, participate in Umoja, and avoid academic probation are more likely to successfully transfer.

Community college enrollment plummeted during the pandemic. Here’s one reason why it’s now turning around
November 13, 2023 | CalMatters |
Article cites The RP Group data from a 2022 survey when discussing student opinions about online education. 

College of the Desert students prefer in-person classes, survey finds
November 10, 2023 | The Desert Sun |
Article mentions findings from The RP Group’s California Community College Attendance Survey.

Why Calculus Remains a Math Flash Point
October 30, 2023 | Education Week |
Article mentions research from “Maximizing Calculus Completion for Students Seeking the Business Administration Degree,” by the California Community College in partnership with The RP Group.

Going to College While Going Without
September 27, 2023 | Inside Higher Ed |
Article highlights and discusses the findings from the Real College California: Basic Needs Among California Community report, by the Community College League of California’s affordability, food and housing access task force and The RP Group.

Cal State against community college’s plan to offer Bachelor degrees
August 17, 2023 | AsAmNews |
Article mentions The RP Group being hired by the Community College Chancellor’s Office to evaluate the California State University (CSU) system’s concern that the California Community College system will be offering bachelor programs that duplicate what the CSU already offers. Our Executive Director, Dr. Darla Cooper was quoted saying that her team’s analysis will use “the info that’s available and not opinions.”

Why Are California's Community Colleges Falling Short of Statewide Transfer Goals?
August 16, 2023 | AirTalk |
The RP Group's Executive Director, Dr. Darla Cooper, CalMatters's reporter, Adam Echelman, and Los Angeles Community College District's Vice Chancellor of Educational Programs and Institutional Effectiveness, Dr. Nicole Albo-Lopez, were interviewed on AirTalk with Larry Mantle. They discussed pathways to increase learning outcomes for students and how individual colleges and students are adapting to meet new transfer standards.

Why Cal State is pushing back on community colleges’ plans to offer bachelor’s degrees
August 11, 2023 | CalMatters |
Article mentions The RP Group being hired by the Community College Chancellor’s Office to evaluate the California State University (CSU) system’s concern that the California Community College system will be offering bachelor programs that duplicate what the CSU already offers.

Community College Transfer Numbers Are Key Benchmark Of Success, But They Remain Far Below State’s Own Goal
July 24, 2023 | LAist |
The RP Group’s Executive Director, Dr. Darla Cooper, was quoted in the article’s discussion about rural students.

Community College Transfer Numbers Remain Far Below State’s Goal
July 24, 2023 | California Local |
The RP Group’s Executive Director, Dr. Darla Cooper, was quoted in the article’s discussion about rural students.

Many students choose work, caring for dependents over community college, survey finds
March 20, 2023 | EdSource |
Article highlighting the every day challenges that students are facing, often having to choose work, caring for dependents over community college. The focus was on the results of the Statewide College Attendance Survey, by the California Community Colleges in partnership with The RP Group, of more than 76,000 prospective and former students in the summer and fall of 2021.

California Community Colleges Eye A Different Future Amid Pandemic Disruption
November 18, 2022 | EdSource |
The RP Group's Dr. Darla Cooper, Executive Director, provided additional context about the survey metrics, noting that, “many students are open to returning,” and that “about half of the students surveyed said they wanted their local colleges to contact them about the possibilities,“ which was interpreted as an indication of wanting to come back.

California Community College Enrollment Plummets To 30-Year Low
November 18, 2022 | Los Angeles Times |
The RP Group's Dr. Darla Cooper, Executive Director, provided additional context about the survey metrics, noting that, “many students are open to returning,” and that “about half of the students surveyed said they wanted their local colleges to contact them about the possibilities,“ which was interpreted as an indication of wanting to come back.

Open for antiracism: supporting educators to use open education for antiracist teaching
October 28, 2022 | Journal for Multicultural Education |
The RP Group's Alyssa Nguyen, Senior Director of Research & Evaluation, and Ireri Valenzuela, Director of Leading from the Middle and Senior Researcher, collaborated with others on this research article about the Open for Antiracism program.

Supporting Equity Through Data: Two Success Stories
February 17, 2021 | AIR Newsletter |
Dr. Brad Trimble's blog post, "The Key (yet quiet) Role of Institutional Investment in Building a True Culture of Student Equity," shared in AIR's newsletter.

Students "Perform" Focus Group Findings in Convocation Performance
2020 | Grossmont College |
Video of Grossmont College Forensic Poetry Team giving powerful poetry performance of focus group questions and findings to faculty and staff at past convocation. Facilitation, findings, and recommendations were led by The RP Group and Grossmont College to help increase equity, support, and institutional effectiveness.

Ready for a ‘real’ college experience, transfer students find their hopes dashed
November 9, 2020 | CalMatters |
The RP Group Executive Director, Dr. Darla Cooper quoted, and team research cited, in article discussing challenges transfer students experience during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Latest News on Student Transfer
July 1, 2020 | Interstate Passport |
Article discussing why many community college students do not transfer to four-year institutions cites The RP Group’s “Students Speak Their Truth About Transfer: What They Need to Get Through the Gate” report.

California Students Face Hurdles to Transfer Success
June 1, 2020 | Campus Technology |
The RP Group’s Through the Gate Transfer Study research discussed in article about the role California colleges and universities play in helping community college students transfer to four-year programs.

Why So Few Students Transfer from Community Colleges to Four-Year Universities
June 1, 2020 | The Hechinger Report |
Article shares findings from transfer studies including The RP Group’s "Students Speak Their Truth About Transfer: What They Need to Get Through the Gate."

Student Voice: ‘I Never Imagined that I’d Attend a Four-Year College, Especially Not While Raising and Supporting a Son’
June 1, 2020 | The Hechinger Report |
Student essay from a single mother who recounts her journey from Crafton Hills College to UCLA noting that the four factors in The RP Group’s May 2020 transfer study report related to her journey.

Getting Students Through the Gate: New Study Focuses on How Higher Education Can Increase Transfer Success
May 21, 2020 | College Futures Foundation |
College Futures Foundations’ article discusses findings from The RP Group’s co-authored report, Students Speak Their Truth About Transfer: What They Need to Get Through the Gate.

Study Finds the Four Factors of Students’ Transfer Capacity
May 20, 2020 | The Renegade Rip |
Article discusses The RP Group’s transfer study student perspectives report and transfer webinar, sharing quotes from The RP Group team and student panelists.

Veteran Students at Vanguard University Oppose School’s Decision to Replace Veterans Center
February 28, 2020 | LA Times | Daily Pilot |
Article emphasizes that veteran centers at colleges provide veteran students with help they need while navigating college life and cites research conducted by The RP Group.

Testing in Place
January 16, 2020 | Language Magazine Improving Literacy and Communication |
The RP Group cited in Language Magazine's article arguing for keeping ESL placement tools as community colleges implement changes to comply with AB 705.

Increasing Student Success in Developmental Mathematics: Proceedings of a Workshop
November 18, 2019 | The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine |
The RP Group cited in The National Academy of Sciences report discussing a workshop focused on education in mathematics. Participants explored research and data demonstrating successful approaches.

As California Law Looks to End Remedial Education, New Studies Show State’s Community Colleges Showing Uneven Progress in Adopting Math & English Reforms
October 9, 2019 | The 74 Million |
The RP Group’s early findings report included in The 74 Million article reporting that although more African-American and Latino students are passing transfer-level classes, more work is needed.

What Happens When Colleges Broaden Access to Transfer-Level Courses? Evidence from California Community Colleges
October 2019 | Public Policy Institute of California |
The RP Group AB 705 research and surveys referenced in PPIC’s October report discussing results of community colleges placing new students in transfer-level courses rather than remedial courses.

More California community college students entering, passing transfer-level math and English as result of landmark law
September 27, 2019 | EdSource |
The RP Group’s early findings on transfer-level math and English post-AB 705 are featured in this article, which reports on the implementation efforts and sentiments of colleges in California.

How Learning Across Systems Supports Middle Leadership
July 2019 | Student Success Network |
Article shares information from The RP Group’s The Power of Middle Leadership report, citing strategies for developing and supporting middle leaders.

The Reality of Meta Major and Program Mapping
June 2019 | Palomar College |
Palomar College shared takeaways from Meta Major webinar. Lessons learned include ASCCC/The RP Group joint ideas on meta major redevelopment in line with Guided Pathways.

Do We Belong? A Conceptual Model for International Students’ Sense of Belonging in Community Colleges
May 15, 2019 | Journal of International Students |
Research article published in Journal of International Students, Volume 9 cites The RP Group’s 1999 RP Conference in Lake Arrowhead, CA.

English as a Second Language in California’s Community Colleges
April 2019 | Public Policy Institute of California |
Report provides research on California Community College ESL programs and the effectiveness of reforms focusing on student success. The RP Group’s MMAP work and other research is cited.

Recommendations for Providing Community Colleges with the Resources They Need
April 25, 2019 | The Century Foundation |
The RP Group’s, “Curricular Redesign and Gatekeeper Completion: A Multi-College Evaluation of the California Acceleration Project” was cited in this report on resources for community colleges.

Implementing Key Process Elements for a BI Strategic System: Lone Star College-Tomball
April 8, 2019 | Educause Review |
The RP Group’s “Building a Culture of Inquiry: Using a Cycle of Exploring Research and Data to Improve Student Success” was cited in this article focused on the effectiveness of business intelligence (BI) on community college decision-making.

Gavilan College Syllabus, SLO’s, Assessment
2019 | Gavilan College |
The RP Group resources included in Gavilan staff SLO assessment syllabus under "Rubrics and Other Useful SLO Links."

Santa Rosa Junior College Scraps Math, English Placement Tests
January 18, 2019 | The Press Democrat |
The RP Group’s MMAP findings mentioned in article about Santa Rosa Junior College allowing more students to take transfer-level math and English courses.

Gavilan 2019 Institutional Self Evaluation Report
January 9, 2019 | Gavilan College |
Report submitted to ACCJC WASC where Gavilan referenced/cited MMAP work and The RP Group best practices regarding placement used at college.

Foothill-De Anza Community College District
January 5, 2019 | Inside Higher Ed Careers |
Foothill-De Anza Community College District incorporates the Six Success Factors into multiple counselor job descriptions.

Modesto Junior College — New Student Day 2018
December 10, 2018 | Modesto Junior College Student Success & Access |
Modesto Junior College integrates “The RP Group research findings related to the Six Success Factors of Student Achievement” to partner with their students and help them succeed.

Wheelhouse: The Center for Community College Leadership and Research
2018 Wheelhouse Fellows | UC Davis Announcement |
Former The RP Group President and Board member Matt Wetstein selected to serve in second cohort of Wheelhouse fellows.

California Community Colleges Urged to Plan Now for Fewer Students in Remedial Courses
August 20, 2018 | EdSource |
The RP Group’s MMAP findings and suggestion to provide students with additional support mentioned in article discussing California Community College’s plan to reduce enrollment in remedial classes.

Informing Choice: Ensuring Student Success Through Meta Majors
August 2018 | California Community Colleges Guide Pathways News Center |
The RP Group team members are quoted in the Chancellor’s Office blog on the use of the Guided Pathways work plan analysis report.

De Anza College — Vision, Mission and Values
August 6, 2018 | DeAnza College: Vision, Mission and Values |
With information from The RP Group’s Student Support (Re)defined report, De Anza College provides support for their students to have direction, stay focused, feel nurtured, be engaged, feel connected, and feel valued.

Remedial Education Reforms at California’s Community Colleges: Early Evidence on Placement and Curricular Reforms
August 2018 | Public Policy Institute of California |
Report reveals that community college faculty members cite attending The RP Group’s Strengthening Student Success Conference as a support for their campus’ reform efforts.

Umoja Community Evaluation from The Research and Planning (RP) Group, August 2018
August 2018 | Umoja Community Research and Publications |
Summary on Umoja’s site discussing The RP Group’s current partnership with Umoja, current evaluation-based study and The RP Group research.

Promising Practices and the Future of Dual Enrollment
August 2018 | WCET |
The RP Group article, “A Guide to Launching and Expanding Dual Enrollment Programs for Historically Underserved Students in California," cited in WCET’s Dual Enrollment article. WCET is an organization with a focus on practice, policy, and advocacy of technology-enhanced learning in higher education.

A Brief History of California’s Changing Approach: Basic Skills and Beyond
May 11, 2018 | Center for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness Blog | by Rose Asera |
“Twelve years ago, when I was a senior scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, we began planning a project on the “developmental or remedial, or foundational courses” at community colleges. At that time, there was not even a common name for the classes for students who were assessed (and labeled) as “not ready for college-level work.”

Multiple Paths Forward Report: Diversifying Mathematics as a Strategy for College Success — The RP Group Cited
May 8, 2018 | Multiple Paths Forward |
The RP Group cited in WestEd / Just Equations Report and shared on Just Equations website.

Kern Community College District
April 14, 2018 | 51st SPRING SESSION RESOLUTIONS |
The RP Group work referenced in relation to KCCD committee Academic Senate Spring Session Resolutions item: Reduce Course Enrollment Maximums as Needed to Satisfy New State Directives.

Continuing Ed Awarded Project of the Year by Research and Planning Group
April 9, 2018 | San Diego Community College District News Center |
The RP Group honors “San Diego Continuing Education, the largest provider of noncredit education in California, with the 2018 Research and Planning Group Project of the Year Award at the 2018 RP Conference in Long Beach” on Thursday, April 12.

“Multiple Paths Forward” cites The RP Group, Published in EdSource Newsletter
April 4, 2018 | EdSource Newsletter Spring 2018 |
The RP Group cited in WestEd Report “Multiple Paths Forward,” which was shared in EdSource email updates, daily for a period of more than 30 days in Spring 2018.

Guided Pathways Library of Resources — The RP Group Cited
March 23, 2018 | California Guided Pathways Library of Resources |
The RP Group referenced as a source multiple times in Chancellor’s Office Guided Pathways Library of Resources document.

Serving English Language Learners in Higher Education — Unlocking the Potential
February 15, 2018 | American Institute for Research |
The RP Group is cited in this 2018 AIR report: Serving English Language Learners in Higher Education: Unlocking the Potential.

Riverside Community College District's Guided Pathways Initiative
February 8, 2018 | Riverside Community College District's Guided Pathways Initiative |
2018 Guided Pathways report has been included on the district’s Strategic Communications Workforce report list.

Dr. Matthew Wetstein Recommended for Cabrillo College Presidency
December 15, 2017 | Times Publishing Group Article |
Matthew Westein, The RP Group President from 2014-2016 will be “the next President/Superintendent of Cabrillo College, with a projected start date of February 1, 2018.”

All Things Transfer
December 14, 2017 | Growing Inland Achievement Blog Post |
Blog post on transfer information where The RP Group’s Through the Gate: Mapping the Transfer Landscape for California Community College Students was referenced as “[investigating] why many students in California enter higher education through the state’s community college system with the intent to transfer to a four-year college or university, and yet the transfer rate from the California Community College (CCC) system is stubbornly low.”

New bill removes remedial classes by 2018
December 4, 2017 | The Connection Article |
MMAP, led by The RP Group and Educational Results Partnerships’ Cal-PASS Plus system, is used by Cosumnes River College to determine “how high school transcripts can be used to determine college competency.”

Reedley College - Equity Executive Summary
November 28, 2017 | Equity Executive Summary |
To determine how to best serve students, Reedley hired The RP Group to conduct focus groups with students.

Norco College
November 15, 2017 | Completion Initiative Workgroup |
Norco College used Completion by Design’s “Loss and Momentum Framework,” and The RP Group’s work that “focuses on six success factors that contribute to student achievement” to prepare its Equity Plan.

Through the Gate: Mapping the Transfer Landscape for California Community College Students
November 13, 2017 | College Futures Foundation Article |
Many California Community College students enroll with the “intent of transferring to a four-year college or university,” but the transfer rate is low. The RP Group’s Through the Gate report “aims to identify which students transfer, which do not, and for what reasons.”

OEI Updates: Supporting Student Success Through Online Ecosystem
October 19, 2017 | CCC Tech Edge Update |
The data gathered from The RP Group’s evaluation shows “colleges that have implemented the Online Education Ecosystem had success rates 2.9 percent above the statewide average.”

OEI To Release Outcomes Summary For 2015-16
May 11, 2017 | CCC Tech Edge Update |
“The California Community Colleges (CCC) Online Education Initiative (OEI) will be releasing its Online Education Initiative Enrollment, Demographics, and Outcomes Summary 2015-16 report. Conducted by experienced independent evaluator The Research and Planning (RP) Group, the report analyzes the impact of online education at 24 OEI pilot colleges in supporting student completion and transfer.”

Two Applied Solutions Kits Are Live on the PLN
April 12, 2017 | IEPI Newsletter |
“The Applied Solutions Kit (ASK) was created out of a need for tools and practices that provide information for colleges on a variety of critical topics. The idea is simple: provide materials that dive deeply into challenges facing your college and/or district. ASKs are developed by the Institutional Effectiveness Partnership Initiative (IEPI) in collaboration with The Research and Planning Group for California Community Colleges (The RP Group).”

More Than $5.7 Million in Grants Awarded to CSUF During Last Three Months of 2016
January 4, 2017 | California State Fullerton News Service |
Director of the Social Science Research Center at Cal State Fullerton, Laura Gil-Trejo, received “$32,676 from The RP Group for the ‘Joyce Foundation Academy for College Excellence (ACE) Study.’” Read the article here.

Four Finalists Announced for Lake Tahoe Community College President Job
November 9, 2016 | South Tahoe Now |
In this article, former The RP Group board member, Matt Wetstein, is one of “four finalists for the position of Lake Tahoe Community College's Superintendent/President.”

Easy Change Could Improve College Racial Equity, July 2016
July 27, 2016 | San Diego Union-Tribune |
Article states that the process for assessing which students get to take college-level courses or remedial courses aids in the racial inequity within California Community Colleges. The RP Group President, Greg Stoupe, “estimates that 50 to 60 percent of inequity is rooted in assessment tests.”

Community Colleges Sending Too Many into Remedial Math, May 2015
May 29, 2015 | San Francisco Chronicle |
Article states California Community Colleges’ placement tests have unfairly placed students in remedial courses. The RP Group is referenced as estimating that “each year, nearly 50,000 students who have passed Algebra 2 in high school with a C or better are required to repeat the equivalent course — and sometimes several remedial math courses — when they enroll at community colleges.”

Reworking Remedial Education, November 2014
November 11, 2014 | EdSource |
The RP Group’s 2014 report, Curricular Redesign and Gatekeeper Completion: A Multi-College Evaluation of the California Acceleration Project, was referenced in an EdSource article about restructuring the approach to remedial education and placement policies.

CLU Professor Receives Fulbright, 2014
May 27, 2014 | Cal Lutheran News |
Out of 1,100 candidates, The RP Group senior researcher Diane Rodriguez-Kiino “received a Fulbright Scholar grant to teach at the University of Tokyo and Tsuda College in Japan during the 2014-2015 academic year.” She “will teach courses on the history of diversity in American higher education.”

Public Campuses Mimic Private University Experience
June 24, 2012 | SF Gate |
Metro Academies Initiative is a program that provides students in public colleges with a private university experience for a small additional cost to each school. Researchers Jane Wellman, a college cost expert, and The RP Group’s Robert Johnstone report that “Metro's modest extra costs are far outweighed by the cost savings realized from reducing the waste currently resulting from very large attrition rates.”