Pathways to Results (PTR) recently held its first cross-site meeting of the 2013-14 academic year at the Office of Community College Research and Leadership’s (OCCRL) offices at the Illini Center in Chicago. In addition to the Chicago office, OCCRL will continue to maintain its original University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign location at 51 Gerty Drive in Champaign.

“We are very pleased to be located in such an accessible, prominent place in Chicago,” said Debra Bragg, OCCRL director and professor in the Department of Education Policy, Organization and Leadership. “Our location is enabling us to strengthen partnerships in the city. We are excited about extending PTR to City Colleges of Chicago and other community colleges in the greater metropolitan area and northern Illinois,” Bragg added.

PTR is an equity-focused continuous improvement process aimed at improving programs of study to support student transitions to college and careers. The process empowers community colleges and their partner organizations to continuously improve programs and produce more equitable student outcomes.

Bragg stressed that the PTR process empowers P-20 education partners to work together to improve programs of study, close equity gaps, and improve outcomes for all learners. With the support of the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB), OCCRL has entered its fifth year working with Illinois community colleges, with 43 of 48 of Illinois’ community colleges participating in the PTR process since its inception. This year, OCCRL staff and coaches are assisting 10 community colleges to implement PTR:

• College of DuPage
• Kennedy-King College
• Harold Washington College
• Harry S Truman College
• Malcolm X College
• Olive-Harvey College
• Rock Valley College
• Richard J. Daley College
• South Suburban College
• Wilbur Wright College

In addition to these colleges, OCCRL staff and coaches will facilitate 10 additional community college teams to work through the PTR process independently. Each team is committed to increasing equitable enrollment and outcomes in the selected program of study. With nearly all community colleges in Illinois engaged in PTR, OCCRL is working collaboratively with the ICCB to build a PTR network. OCCRL is also conducting research to understand how the PTR process can be sustained.