A High School to
Community College to
Four-Year College Program Initiative

The Pathway to the Baccalaureate Program increases access to higher education for selected
Northern Virginia high school students who have both the desire and the capacity to achieve a baccalaureate degree, but whose likelihood of academic success would be significantly enhanced by receiving the targeted support and structural guidance provided by the Pathway Program.
The program provides an environment to facilitate the successful transition and increased retention and transfer of students from high school, through
Northern Virginia Community College, to George
Mason University or another university of the student’s choice.

 As four-year institutions in Virginia become increasingly competitive, more traditionalaged students are enrolling in community colleges with the intent of transferring.
 Many high school students who declare their intent to attend Northern Virginia
Community College (NVCC) are not successfully enrolling.
 The population of students in NVCC’s service area who are academically-qualified but atrisk of persisting in post-secondary education continues to grow rapidly.

 NOVA’s President, Dr. Robert Templin, met with executive leadership of two K-12 systems (FCPS and
LCPS) and George Mason University (2004)
 Executive leadership established a multi-institutional
Task Force to address regional issues and educational trends in the region (2004-2005)
 Program Charter completed and ratified; Memoranda of Agreement approved (2005)
 Program pilot launched in 12 high schools in FCPS and
LCPS (2005-06)

 Consortium is run by an External Steering Committee with representation from all program partners
 External Steering Committee is comprised of senior leaders from program partners (Director, Vice President,
Assistant Superintendant, Provost, etc.)
 Steering Committee meets annually to review program goals, operations and to approve calendar and process for following year
 Additional meetings with individual program partners are held on an as-needed basis

 Program information disseminated to all 12 th grade students in participating high schools
 Outreach to community organizations and college access programs tied to partner high schools
 Students complete 1 page/double-sided program application and submit to high school counselor
 School counselor completes recommendation and provides required supplemental information
 Applications are reviewed by team of NOVA and Mason representatives
 Decisions mailed 4 weeks after application deadline

 Strong post-secondary academic potential
 Long-term academic goal is to complete a baccalaureate degree
 Desire and focus toward future academic achievement
 Strength of character and maturity
 Appropriate attendance and behavioral conduct
 Participation in another college access program

93% of Pathway students meet one or more US Department of Education criteria known to adversely affect academic persistence in college:
 Immigrant or child of immigrant parents
 Member of a minority group
 Low income or single parent household
 First generation college student
 Presence of a disability
 Ward of the state

 High School GPA Range: 0.5-4.1
 Median GPA (HS): 2.50
 35% of students completed at least one college-level course while enrolled in high school
 55% of students completed at least one Tech
Prep or Vocational/Technical course while enrolled in high school
 36% receive Free or Reduced Lunch
 46% of FAFSA-filers are within 150% of Federal
Poverty Level

Student Development
Learning Community
Counseling Services
Financial Support

 High school program services provided onsite at participating high schools during regular school hours
 True one-stop, case management model for student services
 Financial aid/literacy training and programspecific grants and scholarships
 Learning community/cohort-building model beginning in high school
 Early, continuous investment by all participating institutions in student success

Pathway to the
Baccalaureate
Program Design
High School Senior
Receives Pathway
Transition Services onsite at participating high school
Student is admitted to and attends another institution of higher education
(2 year/4 year)
Student is admitted and attends George
Mason University,
Receives Pathway
Retention Services
Student attends NVCC,
Receives Pathway
Retention/Transfer
Services from NVCC &
George Mason
Student elects nonacademic postsecondary option
(employment, military service, etc.)
Student is admitted to and attends another four-year college or university
Student earns
Baccalaureate Degree

 Placement testing, academic advising and early course registration occur on-site at high schools
 Counselors act as liaison with college departments to ensure that all required transition documentation has been submitted to the college
 Pathway Transition Counselors work oncampus in July and August (funded by NVCC) to verify that transition processes are completed

 Learning Community courses, workshops and events at NVCC and Mason
 Retention Counselors dedicated to program participants
 Mandatory academic advising prior to course registration
 Required participation in college’s Student
Development programming and campus life
 Early Alert Program: mid-semester progress

 Access to selected academic, athletic, social, and cultural activities at Mason
 Mason Advisor meets each semester with participating students
 Personalized assistance with each step of transfer process
 Guest Matriculation at George Mason while completing a NVCC degree
 Early, Guaranteed Admission to George Mason with 2.50+ GPA and an Associate in Arts or
Sciences Degree

 Continued academic monitoring by Pathway
Advisors at Mason
 Comprehensive orientations for transfer students
 Continued participation in cohort meetings, workshops, and events for Mason degree candidates
 Early review for Mason financial aid
 Mentoring of younger program students

 85% of cohorts 1-4 successfully transitioned from high school to higher education
(National Average: 63% in 12 years)*
 98% of students earn college credit in the first year (National Average: 47% in 12 years)*
 First to second semester persistence rate for cohorts 1-4: 90% (NVCC average: 77%)
 Year-to-year persistence rate for cohorts 1-4:
81% (NVCC average: 65%)
* US Department of Education, NEL Study

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73% of students in good academic standing after the first semester (Average among similar control groups: 40-50%)*
66% of deferral and “stop-out” students enroll or re-enroll within one year
Financial Aid participation rate is double the NVCC average
Four year Pathway graduation rate is double NOVA’s general graduation rate
65% of students have not participated in other college access programs
* Lumina Foundation, “May 2004 Newsletter”

 School systems and NVCC jointly fund the
Pathway Program, with minimal grant support
 Cost of program to district is based upon number of schools and students served
 Each transition counselor serves up to 360 high school students
 Each retention counselor serves up to 600 college students
 High schools selected at discretion of school system based on funding and need

 Pathway Connection College Readiness pilot launch in 2011-12
 Focus on reducing need for remediation among at-risk students by 50%
 Pathway Connection will use a one-stop, case management approach to early remediation of lagging academic skills
 Two year program pilot will serve 800 10 th and 11 th grade students at 8 high schools