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Learning from California Guided Pathways Project 2.0

Guided Pathways is an equity-focused framework that provides community college students with clear channels to enrollment, course plans, and support services.  The California Guided Pathways project (CAGP) was launched in 2016 with 20 Community Colleges to build momentum for the Guided Pathways framework in the state - which is home to the largest system of higher education in the United States. A second phase, CAGP 2.0, was implemented between 2020-2024, and expanded implementation supports to 18 new colleges while continuing support for 18 colleges from CAGP 1.0.

Engage R+D conducted a developmental evaluation of CAGP 2.0 from 2021-2024. Our annual reports present findings from each of the three years of the learning effort with a particular focus on how Guided Pathways is being implemented on college campuses participating in CAGP 2.0. The evaluation has shown that CAGP was a success in many ways. This project helped to deepen, scale, and catalyze various types of transformational institutional changes that center equity and students. The hope is that others can learn from what the CAGP colleges have accomplished as well as what they have grappled with, to support expansion across the system and to transform the experience of 1.9 million students who attend California Community Colleges each year.