The City University of New York’s Accelerated Study in Associate Programs, or ASAP, has been widely praised for turning out promising results and doubling graduation rates.

That’s why more than a few community colleges are interested in bringing it to their campuses.

Westchester Community College, which is part of the State University of New York System, and Skyline Community College in California are the latest campuses that are gearing up to try ASAP for the first time.

The program helps community college students get to graduation by providing additional academic support and financial incentives like free tuition, textbooks and public transportation.

“The ASAP model was one achieving results that appeared to be unprecedented in regard to helping students in the developmental education sphere,” said Belinda Miles, president of Westchester, which is located roughly 30 miles north of New York City.

CUNY requires participating students to enroll full time and to take developmental courses immediately and continuously. The goal of the program is to double graduation rates. ASAP nearly did just that at CUNY -- after three years, 40 percent of ASAP students graduated compared to 22 percent of control group students, according to MDRC, a nonprofit research organization.....

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