Expanding Pathways to College Enrollment and Degree Attainment: Policies and Reforms for a Diverse Population

Discusses pathways implemented through state policy, and not through specific institutions or systems, which fall into three main categories: Simplifying Transfer, Reforming Remediation, and Alternative Credentials and Pathways. Each category represents a group of policies that seek to lower barriers to access and completion for historically underserved students. The report suggests that if states address these three sets of policies, they will significantly improve access for the increasingly diverse set of college students. At the end of this issue brief, some guiding questions are posed for future research, focusing on which states are performing well and which methods might be the most promising to pursue.