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Many students enter college without the skills and knowledge needed to successfully perform college-level work. An important leverage point for increasing college readiness is the transition from high school to college. One strategy implemented at postsecondary institutions to ease this transition, boost academic and social readiness, and foster students' academic momentum is the summer bridge program. The purpose of this study was to examine how summer bridge programs influence student persistence and completion. The study used propensity score analysis to examine the impact of five summer bridge programs operating in the UNC system from 2008 to 2014. The analyses showed a positive association between summer bridge participation and persistence to the second and third years. Participation in the program also increased the likelihood of graduating in 4 years. Additionally, we provide information on the costs of operating these programs.

Learning communities, a small cohort of students enrolled together in two or more linked courses, have become a popular intervention to help underprepared students succeed in college. Though learning communities abound in practice, the key structural feature of a learning community-the cohortmay not be fully understood. Authors posit that a cohort needs both a structural and communal component to function well. This study examines qualitative data from a pilot site and four community colleges that participated in a random assignment evaluation. Authors observed differences between learning community and non-learning community experiences in terms of classroom climate and academic support networks for students. Differences can be attributed to both the structural nature of the cohort as well as emergent social group dynamics. As such, the cohorts within learning communities appeared to act as mechanisms for increasing student interaction and interdependence. The authors anticipate that these gains in the student experience will enhance student retention.

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