Giving Compass' Take:

• Community college leaders reveal the keys to success for implementing guided pathways initiatives aimed at improving outcomes for students. 

• How can funders best support community college efforts to help students thrive? 

• Learn more about community college efforts to support students. 

Guided pathways have become a full-fledged movement among community colleges in the past few years.

So far, more than 300 institutions have adopted the model, which helps students graduate on time by outlining the courses they need to earn a credential or transfer to a four-year college.

Yet many institutions encounter stumbling blocks when implementing guided pathways. They may have to get buy-in from resistant staff and faculty, shift resources to support the new model or make constant tweaks to get the results they want. But experts say it's worth staying the course; early adopters show promising results, such as increased graduation and retention rates.

To find out more about the challenges of implementing guided pathways, we asked five community college administrators to share what they learned from rolling out the model at their institutions and what advice they'd give to others doing the same. Here's what they had to say.

Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College (A-B Tech)
Beth Stewart, vice president of instructional services

When implementing the Pathway Project at A-B Tech, the two most important lessons we learned centered on advising and flexibility.

Austin Community College District (ACC)
Charles Cook, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs

For these efforts to be successful, everyone at the college must see their role in improving the student experience. This requires continuous communication and dialogue as well as many opportunities for professional development.

Lorain County Community College
Jonathan Dryden, provost and vice president for academic and learner services

The secret to the success of our guided pathways program is that it has been — and continues to be — a grassroots effort guided by our faculty and staff.

Read the full article about community college guided pathways initiatives by Natalie Schwartz at Education Dive.