Our Focus: Guided Pathways and Student Financial Stability

Authentic, large-scale improvement begins with colleges’ rethinking how their policies, programs, and services come together to create the optimal student experience.

Using that framework, they then can build on what works and redesign as needed. Guided pathways and student financial stability provide a structure for doing this work — and for developing a lasting institutionwide system that better serves all students.

Guided pathways provides a powerful, practical framework through which institutions address students’ entire educational experience and streamline students’ path from entry to completion. It requires evolutionary change that focuses on the college’s role in increasing the number of students who graduate, transfer with junior standing, and are prepared for the quality careers that exist in their region.

Student financial stability work involves restructuring both traditional and nontraditional financial support in a coherent, student-friendly way. With these changes, finances become less of a barrier for low-income students so they can graduate or transfer at higher rates.

There are many ways to implement guided pathways and plan for student financial stability. Thus, we do not have off-the-shelf packages. Whether we are working with a college on an individual engagement or through the A2I2 Cohort, NCII tailors its services based on each institution’s goals and challenges.

“Rob Johnstone has brought inspiration and commitment to a shared common purpose to fundamentally re-engineer our college. His direct but approachable style has removed defensiveness, fear, and trepidation from every audience. As a result, our college stands together in implementing a profound restructuring to better serve the needs of our students.”

— Mandy Davies, Vice President, Sierra College (CA)