Third-Party Non-Profit Case Management Delivery
Community college counselors are typically trained primarily in academic course selection and operate under massive caseloads (1:1,500 to 1:3,500), making them unequipped to address the complex non-academic social safety net needs of low-income students.
Picture this
Contracting a dedicated social service agency to manage student stability is like a hospital hiring specialized physical therapists to handle post-surgery rehabilitation rather than asking busy ER doctors to conduct daily exercise routines. The specialized team possesses specific expertise and lower client ratios needed for long-term recovery.
What the evidence says
Program participants achieved a 31.5 percentage point increase in associate degree completion among enrolled females (TOT, p < 0.05) and logged an average of 33.8 interactions per semester with navigators.
- Who
- N = 869 low-income community college students at Tarrant County College Trinity River Campus in Fort Worth, Texas.
- How
- Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) evaluating external social work navigators from Catholic Charities Fort Worth with a 34:1 student-to-advisor ratio versus standard internal college counseling.
What to do
Establish formal institutional partnerships with external social service non-profits to embed certified social workers directly on college campuses for student support.
From the source
"The research demonstration project studied in this paper is novel in that it is an comprehensive case-management program run by a third party non-profit with a particular expertise in case management."
Increasing Community College Completion Rates among Low-Income Students: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluation of a Case Management Intervention