Male students of color bring strengths and assets to their college experience, but research indicates they face three primary hurdles that can inhibit college completion: inadequate social, emotional, and campus support; insufficient college preparation and academic achievement; and nonacademic barriers to persistence. To provide causal evidence on what programs best support degree completion among male college students of color, the Men of Color College Achievement project, a partnership between MDRC and the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC), is studying an integrated intervention consisting of a culturally relevant student success course, mentorship and academic coaching, and academic and professional activities designed to bolster academic success. In this video produced by the College Completion Network, MDRC’s Rashida Welbeck describes the project.

The College Completion Network brings together researchers and practitioners to tackle barriers to college completion and identify and evaluate effective strategies for improving college completion. The network, of which MDRC is a member, is led by the American Institutes for Research and is supported by the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education.