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problems before they drop out of school and increasing persistence and success. An experimentalevaluation of an enhanced advising program conducted by MDRC found that enhanced advisingincreased students’ persistence and the number of credits earned in the short term, though theeffects faded over time. 9 A more recent experimental evaluation of individualized studentcoaching, similar to academic advising, found positive effects on persistence. 10 Continuing toprovide advising throughout students’ time in college may sustain these effects long term.ASAP students must also attend tutoring while they take their developmental coursesand if they are on academic probation. Tutoring is intended to help underprepared students byproviding additional instruction, reinforcement, and support. Best practices in the field includeoffering multiple types of academic support, from one-on-one tutoring to computerized supplementalinstruction. 11 MDRC evaluated a program that offered students incentives to visit atutoring center as part of a larger intervention and found modest positive results on academicperformance in the targeted course sequence. 12ASAP provides blocked and linked courses for students in their first year, the goals ofwhich are to enroll ASAP students together in the same courses so that they can meet andsupport one another and to give program students convenient schedules so they can make themost of their time on campus. While this component does not reach the level of a classicallearning community, 13 it is designed to provide some similar benefits, such as better acclimationto the college environment and the formation of meaningful bonds with fellow students. Thesebenefits may be especially important in community colleges, since students commute rather thanlive on campus and may spend little time at school outside of class. 14 Experimental evaluationsof learning communities conducted by MDRC have found mixed results, with some learningcommunities producing statistically significant 15 impacts on persistence and credit accumulationand others producing no statistically significant impacts. 16 However, there is evidence in theliterature that strengthening students’ academic and social bonds in college leads them to persistfrom semester to semester. 179 Scrivener and Weiss (2009).10 Bettinger and Baker (2013).11 Fullmer (2012); Rheinheimer, Grace-Odeleye, Francois, and Kusorgbor (2010); Perin (2004).12 Sommo et al. (2014).13 In learning communities, small cohorts of students are placed together in two or more courses for onesemester, usually in the freshman year. The courses are linked by a common theme and are taught by a team ofinstructors who collaborate with each other to develop the syllabi and assignments.14 Taylor, Moore, MacGregor, and Lindblad (2003); Adelman (2005).15 A statistically significant impact is one that is unlikely to have arisen by chance and can be attributed tothe intervention with a high degree of confidence.16 Weiss, Visher, Weissman, and Wathington (forthcoming).17 Person, Rosenbaum, and Deil-Amen (2006); Deil-Amen (2011).4