MORE GUIDANCE, BETTER RESULTS?

stipend offered as part of the Opening Doors program) or reforms that improve the pedagogicalpractices of instructors.Finally, when considering the effectiveness of the program studied at Lorain andOwens, it is important to be mindful of the cost of the program. If funding is available, MDRCplans to conduct research measuring the cost of this intervention. In addition, MDRC hopes toassess the costs of the other Opening Doors programs (performance-based scholarships;learning communities, which group students in linked courses with mutually reinforcing themesand assignments in order to strengthen their college learning experience; and a college orientationcourse for students on academic probation). While this potential study is still in its earliestdesign phase, it is worth noting that the enhanced student services intervention studied hererepresents the “lightest touch” of the interventions tested as part of Opening Doors. (See Table1.1 for a description of all the Opening Doors programs.) The other programs offered moreprogram components, more intensive services, or both. Considered in this context, the modestshort-term impacts of the Opening Doors program in Ohio suggest that the enhanced studentservices and a modest stipend could be an important component of a larger package to meaningfullyimprove student success at community colleges.66