Guided Pathways Projects
There are currently three big initiatives underway that are implementing a Guided Pathways approach to redesigning community college programs and practices, and Cuyamaca College is involved with two of them. Here is quick summary and description of all three:
The California Guided Pathways Project (CAGP). This is a selective program consisting of 20 California community colleges – including Cuyamaca College – that were chosen through an application process in the spring of 2017 to participate in a three-year program to implement an integrated, institution-wide approach to boost student achievement. While the fiscal agent for this project is the Foundation for California Community Colleges, the program is modeled on the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Pathways Project (see below) and has been adapted for implementation in California. Each college taking part in the program must commit to participating in six institutes over the next three years that will provide training and assistance, with the goal of implementing guided pathways for all incoming students by Fall 2019. For more information, check out this California Guided Pathways fact sheet.
The California Community Colleges Guided Pathways Project. This effort, led by the California Community College Chancellor’s Office, is designed to provide all California community colleges with the opportunity to implement Guided Pathways. Funded through $150 million in one-time grants provided through the 2017-18 California State Budget, this multi-year state award supports processes that help colleges integrate multiple initiatives and scale up effective practices to improve student success. To qualify for funding, each college must 1) send a team to attend a one-day workshop, 2) prepare a self-assessment report, and 3) prepare a multi-year action plan for implementing Guided Pathways.
The American Association of Community Colleges Pathways Project. In the summer of 2015 the AACC, working in partnership with national organizations including Achieving the Dream (ATD), the Community College Research Center (CCRC), and the Center for Community College Student Engagement (CCCSE), selected a group of 30 community colleges across the nation to design and implement structured academic and career pathways at scale, for all of their students. The project design, based on six training institutes over three years with coaches from the field, became the model for both the California Guided Pathways Project and Pathways 2.0, a second national project that launched in 2017. Early findings from the AACC Pathways Project have already led to revisions and improvements in both the CAGP and Pathways 2.0.
To summarize, Cuyamaca College is one of 20 California community colleges participating in the California Guided Pathways Project (CAGP). We are also participating in the statewide California Community Colleges Pathways Project, which will provide funding to support this work.
