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Program group members were assigned to an Opening Doors counselor. The OpeningDoors counseling sessions that MDRC observed covered a range of issues, including courseselection, registration, financial aid, other financial issues, tutoring, work-based learning efforts,juggling school and work, career aspirations, and personal issues. The Opening Doors counselorsprovided intensive assistance themselves, and referred students to other services on andoff campus. Both colleges designated staff in the financial aid office to serve as a special liaisonfor students in the Opening Doors program.Control group members were not assigned to a counselor, but could seek help from acounselor or adviser on their own. In contrast to the counseling provided to Opening Doorsstudents, the counseling that control group members received tended to be short-term andfocused only on academic issues. Data from the study’s 12-month survey show that theprogram increased the frequency with which students received academic advising, financialaid advising, and other student services.• The Ohio colleges implemented the Opening Doors stipend component asdesigned. About 9 of every 10 program group members received at least onestipend payment.Program group students were eligible for a $150 stipend per semester for two semesters,which they could use for any purpose. The stipend’s primary function was to promotecontact between students and their counselor. It was paid in two installments each semester,after scheduled counseling meetings. A total of 89.3 percent of the program group membersreceived at least one stipend payment, and 45.9 percent received the full $300.• The implementation analysis suggests that the Opening Doors program wassomewhat more intensive at Lorain than at Owens.As noted above, average caseloads were lower for Lorain’s Opening Doors counselorsthan for their counterparts at Owens. Data from the programs suggest that students at Lorainmay have had more contact with their Opening Doors counselor than students at Owens. Ahigher proportion of the program group members at Lorain than at Owens received at least onestipend payment, and a higher proportion received the full $300.Did the Program Make a Difference?The first two semesters that each student was in the study, during which time OpeningDoors services were provided to the program group, are called the “first program semester”and the “second program semester.” The semesters that followed are called “postprogramsemesters.” Each sample member, regardless of the time of random assignment, was followedES-4
up for six consecutive semesters — two program semesters and four postprogram semesters —over a period of three years.Figure ES.1 illustrates registration rates over the study’s three-year follow-up period.The white bars show the average outcomes for program group members, and the solid blackbars show the averages for control group members. The difference between each pair of barsrepresents the program’s impact, and the presence of one or more asterisks indicates that animpact is statistically significant, meaning that it is unlikely to be due to chance. As the figureillustrates, over time there is an initial steep decline in registration rates for both researchgroups, followed by a more gradual decline. This pattern is common in community colleges.The primary question of the impact analysis is whether and to what extent the Opening Doorsprogram affected those rates and other key academic outcomes.The Opening Doors DemonstrationFigure ES.1Effects on Registration RatesLorain County Community College and Owens Community College ReportPercentage registered for any course10090807060504030201089.988.6***65.358.3*43.740.034.532.328.925.924.423.20First programsemesterSecond programsemesterFirstpostprogramsemesterSecondpostprogramsemesterThirdpostprogramsemesterFourthpostprogramsemesterProgram groupControl groupSOURCES: Lorain County Community College and Owens Community College transcript data.NOTES: A two-tailed t-test was applied to differences between research groups. Statistical significance levelsare indicated as: *** = 1 percent; ** = 5 percent; * = 10 percent.ES-5
Page 1: OPENING DOORSMORE GUIDANCE,BETTER R
Page 4 and 5: Funders of the Opening Doors Projec
Page 7 and 8: ContentsOverviewList of Tables, Fig
Page 9 and 10: List of Tables, Figures, and BoxesT
Page 11: PrefaceIf approved by Congress, the
Page 14 and 15: guidance on the study. Thomas Brock
Page 16 and 17: • The Ohio colleges successfully
Page 20 and 21: • For the most part, the program
Page 22 and 23: offered, but might also provide stu
Page 25 and 26: Chapter 1IntroductionOver the last
Page 27 and 28: The Opening Doors DemonstrationTabl
Page 29 and 30: sure that students complete the req
Page 31 and 32: While the mechanism through which s
Page 33 and 34: imately 1,700 to 1 in 2001. 22 Exac
Page 35: of literature exist on career couns
Page 38 and 39: The CollegeLorain County Community
Page 40 and 41: • Were beginning freshmen or cont
Page 42 and 43: The Opening Doors DemonstrationTabl
Page 44 and 45: Table 2.1 (continued)SOURCE: MDRC c
Page 46 and 47: Lorain and Owens Financial Aid Data
Page 49 and 50: Chapter 3The Implementation of the
Page 51 and 52: Toward the end of each student’s
Page 53 and 54: meet with their counselor a minimum
Page 55: The Opening Doors DemonstrationTabl
Page 59 and 60: Appendix Table C.2 shows informatio
Page 61: Opening Doors counselors, and progr
Page 64 and 65: Program Control Difference Standard
Page 67 and 68: Chapter 4The Effects of Enhanced St
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Program SemestersTable 4.1 (page 47
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Program Control Difference Standard
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The Opening Doors DemonstrationTabl
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Transcript Outcomes by GenderAssess
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correspond with the program’s imp
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Chapter 5Summary and ConclusionsLor
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The Opening Doors DemonstrationFigu
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An alternative interpretation of th
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Appendix ASupplementary Baseline In
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Full Program ControlCharacteristic
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Appendix Table A.1 (continued)Full
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Full Program ControlCharacteristic
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Appendix BSurvey Response Analysis
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Background Characteristics of Surve
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Table B.1 (continued)Characteristic
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The Opening Doors DemonstrationAppe
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Table B.2 (continued)SOURCE: MDRC c
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Lorain OwensProgram ProgramOutcome
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Lorain County Community CollegeOwen
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Appendix DDescription of Scales Pre
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4. I hardly ever expect things to g
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Social Support and Civic Engagement
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Psychological Distress (6-item summ
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Male SubgroupFemale SubgroupDiffere
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Appendix Table E.7 (continued)SOURC
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Appendix Table E.10 (continued)SOUR
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ReferencesAdelman, Clifford. 2004.
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EARLIER MDRC PUBLICATIONS ON OPENIN
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About MDRCMDRC is a nonprofit, nonp
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