Citation
Visher, M., Weiss, M., Weissman, E., Rudd, T., & Wathington, H. (2012). The effects of learning communities for students in developmental education: A synthesis of findings from six community colleges. New York: National Center for Postsecondary Research.
Highlights
- The study’s objective was to examine the impact of developmental education learning communities at six community colleges across the United States on enrollment, credits attempted, and credits earned over the program semester and two follow-up semesters. Students in the learning communities took a developmental course that was linked to either a college-level course or a student success course, depending on the specific school, during one semester. One community college also provided students in the learning communities with tutoring and case management services.
- The study pooled data from six randomized controlled trials, in which eligible students were randomly assigned to either the treatment group, which was offered the opportunity to participate in the learning community program, or the control group, which could not participate in the learning community program. The primary data sources were a baseline survey on background characteristics and student transcripts.
- The study found that the treatment group had significantly higher full-time registration rates and earned significantly more total cumulative credits during the program semester than the control group, but these differences were not significant in the two follow-up semesters. In addition, the study found no significant impacts on course enrollment rates or total cumulative credits attempted in the program semester or the two follow-up semesters.
- The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is high because it was based on a well-implemented randomized controlled trial. This means we are confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the learning communities, and not to other factors.
Intervention Examined
Learning Communities
Features of the Intervention
Although each school in this study implemented a different version of the learning community model, each version shared certain core elements. Each learning community was implemented over one semester and had small cohorts of students with linked courses, which included one developmental course in a target subject. At two of the colleges, the program’s target subject was developmental math, whereas the other four targeted a developmental reading, writing, or English course. A few of the colleges linked the math or reading course with another college-level content course; others linked the math or reading course with a college success or orientation course. Across the linked courses, instructors integrated instructional practices, grading mechanisms, and projects. Learning communities also included more hands-on faculty time and more extensive instructional and counseling supports for students. Five of the schools operated the learning communities over roughly the same time period. At three colleges, enrollment in the learning communities occurred from spring 2008 to fall 2009. One school operated the learning communities from fall 2007 to fall 2008, and another operated the program from fall 2007 to spring 2009. The sixth school implemented the program from fall 2003 to spring 2005.
Eligibility for participating in learning communities varied by school. All six schools targeted students in developmental English, reading or math courses. Most schools had additional age restrictions, and some limited the program to first-time college students, returning students, or transfer students.
Features of the Study
This was a randomized controlled trial. Random assignment occurred at the student level, separately by campus and semester cohort. During the registration period of the semester, college staff identified and invited eligible students to participate in the program. Students interested in the program completed a baseline information form and consented to participate in the study. Then, students were randomized into either the treatment group, which was offered the opportunity to participate in a learning community, or the control group, which could not participate in the learning community but could access existing services on campus. The process began again in the next semester. The probability of being assigned to the treatment group varied across colleges and cohorts. Across the six colleges, there were 6,974 students in the study, with 3,983 in the treatment group and 2,991 in the control group.
Using data from students’ transcripts and the baseline information form, the authors estimated impacts of the learning communities by comparing the differences between the mean outcomes of students in the intervention condition and mean outcomes of students in the control condition. The main results were pooled across the six colleges and weighted to account for different random assignment ratios across cohorts. The authors provided impact estimates for the program semester and two follow-up semesters for each school.
Study Sites
- The Community College of Baltimore County in Maryland
- Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Florida
- Houston Community College in Houston, Texas
- Kingsborough Community College in New York City, New York
- Merced College in Merced, California
- Queensborough Community College in New York City, New York
Findings
- The study found that there were no significant differences in course enrollment rates between the treatment and control group in the program semester or in the two follow-up semesters.
- Treatment group members had a statistically significant 3 percentage point increase in full-time registration in the program semester compared with the control group, but the difference between the groups was not statistically significant in the two follow-up semesters.
- Treatment group members earned significantly more cumulative total credits in the program semester than the control group, but there were no statistically significant differences between the groups in the two follow-up semesters.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
Impacts varied substantially by college; impacts were significantly higher at Kingsborough Community College, which offered the program with a rich set of instructional supports, than they were at other schools.
The study authors estimated multiple related impacts on outcomes related to persistence toward degree completion. Performing multiple statistical tests on related outcomes makes it more likely that some impacts will be found statistically significant purely by chance and not because they reflect program effectiveness. The authors did not perform statistical adjustments to account for the multiple tests, so the number of statistically significant findings in this domain is likely to be overstated.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is high because it was based on a well-implemented randomized controlled trial. This means we are confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the learning communities, and not to other factors.