About the Pathways to College Network

Launched in 2001, the Pathways to College Network is an alliance of national organizations committed to advancing college access and success for underserved students, including those who are the first generation in their families to go to college, low-income students, underrepresented minorities, and students with disabilities. Pathways emphasizes connecting policymakers, education leaders and practitioners, and community leaders with research on effective strategies for improving college preparation, enrollment, and degree completion. In 2004, Pathways published A Shared Agenda: A Leadership Challenge to Improve College Access and Success, summarizing research-based effective policies and practices drawn from over 650 studies. The six guiding principles articulated in A Shared Agenda are at the center of our ongoing work.

1. Expect that all underserved students are capable of being prepared to enroll and succeed in college.
2. Provide a range of high-quality college-preparatory tools for underserved students and their families.
3. Embrace social, cultural, and learning-style differences in developing learning environments and activities for underserved students.
4. Involve leaders at all levels in establishing policies, programs, and practices that facilitate student transitions towards postsecondary attainment.
5. Maintain sufficient financial and human resources to enable underserved students to prepare for, enroll, and succeed in college.
6. Assess policy, program, practice, and institutional effectiveness regularly.

1. Increase knowledge through research creation and synthesis
• Supporting new research about persistent barriers to college access and success and effective strategies for overcoming them.
• Synthesizing research that informs the efforts of policymakers and practitioners to improve college opportunities for underserved students.
2. Supporting action through the promoting of research-based policies and practices
• Serving as a 'hub' for the collection and dissemination of research reports, policy briefs, data, and other resources that address college access and success issues.
• Developing tools and products to support the implementation of research-based reforms.
3. Raising awareness through strategic communications
• Increasing understanding of college access and success issues among education leaders, policymakers, and opinion leaders
• Engaging partners in furthering our college access mission