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Overview

After the first two years of implementation, Completion by Design engaged the RP Group to develop a series of four inquiry guides that documented the approaches and insights emerging from the initiative. Completion by Design is a five-year initiative that works with cadres of community colleges within three states — Florida, North Carolina, and Ohio — to develop coherent pathways of study, thereby increasing completion and graduation rates for low-income students under 26, while holding down costs and maintaining access and quality.

Completion by Design focuses on three key completion goals: earning certificates and degrees, transferring to four-year institutions, and raising the value in the labor market. In order to fundamentally rethink their systems, colleges have engaged in a process of student-focused inquiry, which includes:

• Constructing thoughtful questions to better understand the student experience

• Facing realities about the status quo

• Collecting and examining various types of data

• Interpreting the evidence with colleagues

• Collectively engaging in passionate discourse on how to interpret this evidence and use it to inform action

After the first two years of implementation, Completion by Design engaged the RP Group to develop a series of four inquiry guides that documented the approaches and insights emerging from the initiative:

1. Building a Culture of Inquiry: Using a Cycle of Exploring Research and Data to Improve Student Success

2. Understanding the Student Experience Through the Loss/Momentum Framework: Clearing the Path to Completion

3. The Nuances of Completion: Improving Student Outcomes by Unpacking the Numbers

4. Principles of Redesign: Promising Approaches to Transforming Student Outcomes

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