Colleagues,
At our recent Renfro Rundown, we discussed Guided Pathways and what it could mean for the future of EICC. I want to follow up by sharing why I believe this work is important for our students and the long-term strength of our colleges.
We have much to be proud of at EICC, including dedicated faculty and staff, strong academic programs, and opportunities for students across our communities. But we also need to look closely at our data, acknowledge our challenges, and consider what we can do differently.
The reality is we are not seeing enough students complete what they start.
Consider some of our challenges:
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Retention: Fewer than half (47.6%) of our students return from one fall to the next. Too many leave before completing a credential or reaching their educational goals.
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Enrollment intensity: Too few students attend full-time or maintain consistent enrollment. We need to encourage students attending three-quarter time to consider full-time enrollment, help full-time students maintain their momentum, and ensure part-time students have clear pathways to completion, including summer coursework when appropriate. (Nearly 20% of our full-time students decrease to part-time)
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High school transitions: Thousands of high school students earn college credit through EICC, yet relatively few continue with us after graduation. (15.5% HS concurrent conversion rate) At the same time, fewer high school graduates are choosing postsecondary education. (Depending on the high school, 18% to 50% of Area 9 graduates do not enroll in postsecondary education within one year of high school graduation.)
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Graduation and completion: Our completion rates need to improve. Too many students invest significant time and money in college without earning a credential. (IPEDS 150% Graduation Rate: 40.7%)
These challenges also raise an important question about return on investment for our students and their families. When students take unnecessary courses, change direction without guidance, or lose credits in transfer, it costs them time and money. We have a responsibility to help students reach their goals as efficiently and affordably as possible.
Why Guided Pathways?
Guided Pathways is a college-wide approach to helping students explore opportunities, choose a direction, follow a clear academic plan, and complete their educational goals. It is built around four principles: Clarify the Path, Enter the Path, Stay on the Path, and Ensure Learning.
Research from the Community College Research Center supports the importance of clear academic pathways, proactive advising, predictable scheduling, and coordinated student support.
For EICC, this means looking at how we help students select programs, build schedules, maintain academic momentum, earn livable wages, transfer credits, and access support before they fall behind. It also means recognizing not every student can attend full-time. We need flexible, predictable pathways that help students make steady progress, whether they attend full-time or part-time.
Student success and institutional sustainability go hand in hand. When more students persist, complete credentials, obtain careers, transfer successfully, and see value in their education, we strengthen enrollment, build community confidence, and better serve our region.
Much of this work is already underway through our strategic plan. Guided Pathways provides a framework for bringing these efforts together, examining how our programs and services connect, and identifying where we can do better.
Ultimately, our success cannot simply be measured by how many students enroll at EICC. It must also be measured by how many achieve what they came here to accomplish.
I appreciate the work you do every day to support our students. I encourage you to explore the resources below, consider what our data tells us, and think about how we can work together to help more students succeed.
Thank you for being part of this important work.
Bryan Renfro, PhD
Chancellor
Eastern Iowa Community Colleges
101 West Third Street, Davenport
563-336-3301
Learn More: Guided Pathways and Student Success Resources
As we continue our Guided Pathways conversations, I encourage you to explore the research and take a closer look at our own student success data. These resources help us better understand our challenges, identify opportunities, and consider how we can improve the student experience.
New to Guided Pathways? Start Here.
Guided Pathways is a national approach to helping students explore educational opportunities, choose a direction, develop an academic plan, and stay on track toward graduation, transfer, or employment. It is not a single program or initiative, but a framework for looking at how the entire college works together to support students.
The model is built around four principles:
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Clarify the Path: Make educational and career pathways clear.
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Enter the Path: Help students explore options and select a program.
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Stay on the Path: Provide guidance, scheduling, and support to keep students moving toward completion.
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Ensure Learning: Help students gain the knowledge and skills they need for future success.
For an introduction, explore:
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Pathways 101 – National Guided Pathways Resource Center – An accessible introduction to Guided Pathways, why it matters, and its four essential practices. A good starting point for faculty and staff unfamiliar with the framework.
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Iowa Department of Education – Guided Pathways – An overview of Iowa's statewide Guided Pathways framework and how community colleges are working to improve student experiences and outcomes.
Guided Pathways Research
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Lessons From Two Major Evaluations of Guided Pathways – Community College Research Center – Research examining the implementation of Guided Pathways across approximately 100 community colleges and its relationship to student progress. The findings highlight the importance of connecting academic pathways with proactive advising, predictable schedules, and coordinated student support.
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On Path and On Schedule: Strategies for Prioritizing Time to Completion for Community College Students – Community College Research Center (May 2025) – Examines the relationship between enrollment intensity, academic planning, and timely completion. The article emphasizes the importance of encouraging academic momentum while providing flexible, predictable schedules that help both full-time and part-time students complete their credentials efficiently.
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From Goals to Graduation to Post-Completion Success: Why Every Student Needs an Educational Plan – Community College Research Center (September 2026) – Examines the importance of helping students develop clear, individualized educational plans connecting their academic choices to graduation, transfer, and career goals. The brief emphasizes proactive advising, intentional course selection, and ongoing support to help students stay on track, avoid unnecessary credits, and complete their credentials efficiently.
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Guided Pathways Research – Community College Research Center – Additional research on how colleges are redesigning the student experience, strengthening advising, and improving completion and transfer outcomes.
EICC Student Success Data and Outcomes
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EICC Fall-to-Fall and Fall-to-Spring Retention Reports – Examine student persistence and retention trends, including differences among student populations. These reports help us understand when students are leaving and where additional support may be needed.
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EICC IPEDS Graduation Rates – Review graduation and completion rates within established federal reporting timeframes. These measures provide a national benchmark for understanding how successfully students are progressing toward credentials.
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Iowa Student Outcomes Dashboards – Explore completion, transfer, employment, and earnings outcomes for EICC and other Iowa community colleges. These dashboards help connect educational experiences with longer-term student outcomes and return on investment.
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Aspen Institute Community College Benchmarking Tool – Compare EICC's student success outcomes with national benchmarks and peer colleges, including measures of completion and transfer. This resource helps identify institutional strengths and opportunities for improvement. Access requires an affiliated community college email address.
These resources provide important context for our work. I encourage you to consider not only what the data tells us, but also what we can do differently to help more students reach their goals.
We are also creating a Guided Pathways Resource Center to bring together research, tools, examples, and information to support our work across EICC. More details will be shared soon. In the meantime, I encourage you to share any resources, tools, or information you have found particularly helpful. This will be a collaborative effort, and your insights and experiences will help us build a valuable resource for everyone.
As you explore these resources, consider two questions:
What does our data tell us about the experiences of our students?
What can we do differently to help more of them succeed?