Case study
Dec 1, 2018
In 2014, as part of the Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) Ohio Demonstration, Lorain County Community College launched Students Accelerating in Learning (SAIL), a comprehensive student success program that is substantially improving persistence and graduation rates among low-income students. Given the program’s results, Lorain has committed to sustaining the program and expanding it to serve most of its low-income student population. If the college achieves this goal, it could close attainment gaps between low-income and more affluent students, markedly boost its overall graduation rate, gain revenue through increased tuition and performance-based funding, and, most important, significantly enhance the educational and career trajectories of its students. During early implementation, the college took several steps to fund and institutionalize SAIL that are
now making it easier to sustain the program. This brief draws lessons from Lorain’s experience to shed light on how other postsecondary institutions may adopt and sustain similar programs to increase student success.