SUNY WCC’s Viking ROADS (Resources for Obtaining Associate Degrees and Success) increased full-time enrollment levels for participating students by up to 20 percentage points over students in a control group, and increased credit attainment by roughly 3 credits over the first two semesters. Taken together, these findings suggest that the program enabled more students to persist and take more credits than they would have otherwise. In addition, students were able to manage this increased course load and make faster progress toward graduation.
Viking ROADS is an opportunity program that helps motivated students graduate with an Associate Degree in three years or less. In exchange for full-time study and fulfilling program requirements, students receive personalized advising and financial and academic support. Among the eligibility requirements for participating in the program, students must be a New York State resident, be a first-time student in a college or a continuing/transfer student with no more than 18 credits and at least a 2.0 GPA, and enroll in an eligible major. Over 70% of the students involved in the study identified as Black or Latinx, and more than 30% were the first in their family to attend a college or university.
“At a time when an increasing number of community college students were diverted from their studies due to the hardships imposed by the pandemic, SUNY WCC’s Viking ROADS program demonstrated significant success in guiding and encouraging students to achieve their academic goals,” said Dr. Belinda S. Miles, President of SUNY Westchester Community College. “SUNY WCC’s commitment to academic success is evidenced by our increasing graduation rate overall. The results of this Viking ROADS study, along with our other opportunity programs, confirm that SUNY WCC has the tools in place to continue this positive trend that has such critical importance in the lives of our students, their families, and our region’s economic growth.”
Viking ROADS, launched in 2018 with major support from Arnold Ventures and an anonymous WCC Foundation donor, is based closely on the successful City University of New York’s (CUNY) Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP), a comprehensive community college program that doubled three-year graduation rates in prior evaluations in New York City and Ohio. SUNY WCC received technical assistance from CUNY during the study replication.
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