Breaking Through
promotes and strengthens the efforts of community colleges to help low-skilled adults prepare for and succeed in occupational and technical degree programs. Counteracting high attrition rates in Adult Basic Education and developmental education, Breaking Through colleges create effective pathways through precollege and degree-level programs that raise college completion rates. This initiative proves that low-skilled adults can advance through remediation and earn credentials while saving time and money.
History of Breaking ThroughIn Phase 1, researchers documented the four high-leverage strategies being utilized by colleges across the country to engage and support lower-skilled adults. This phase resulted in the 2004 report, Breaking Through: Helping Low-Skilled Adults Enter and Succeed in College and Careers. |
Strategies to SuccessBreaking Through helps community colleges redesign programs so that more low-skilled adults can acquire the skills necessary to succeed in postsecondary education and attain credentials. The initiative promotes four high-leverage strategies to develop college and career pathways for students to advance their studies or enter family-supporting careers. |
Breaking Through StrandsThe Breaking Through initiative consists of a number of different strands: bodies of work that are based on the four high-leverage strategies. These strands include state-level college networks in Kentucky, Michigan, and North Carolina; a network of six tribal colleges; an English language learner-focused demonstration project in South Texas; and a state policy initiative. |
Initiative ComponentsWoven through the Breaking Through strands are a number of components that support and promote the development of pathways for low-skilled adult learners. These are: raising awareness, supporting replication, identifying and developing state policies, evaluating outcomes and evidence, and developing tools and trainings to support colleges and states in implementing the Breaking Through strategies. |
