1dOprzL

the full package of ASAP services including the tuition waiver, these students were not includedin the evaluation sample. 6ASAP staff at BMCC, KCC, and LGCC invited students who met the eligibility criteriato participate in the evaluation through letters, e-mails, and phone calls. Students who attendedan intake session on campus, during which time staff described the ASAP program and evaluation,and who agreed to take part in the study completed an Informed Consent Form and aBaseline Information Form (BIF) containing questions about their background. After completingthe forms, each student was randomly assigned (using a computer program at MDRC) eitherto the program group, whose members had the opportunity to participate in ASAP, or to thecontrol group, whose members had the opportunity to receive the usual college services. Ascompensation for their time, students who were randomly assigned to either group received aone-week MetroCard for use on public transportation. 7Two groups (or cohorts) of students were randomly assigned for the MDRC evaluation:one just before the spring 2010 semester and the other just before the fall 2010 semester.(BMCC and KCC assigned students before both semesters; LGCC assigned students onlybefore the fall 2010 semester.) A total of 896 students are in the sample — 451 in the programgroup and 445 in the control group.The right-most column of Table 2.1 shows selected characteristics of the evaluationsample from the BIF and data from CUNY. As the table shows, 62 percent are women andstudents’ average age was 21.5 when they entered the study. Although the majority of thestudents in the sample were relatively young when they were randomly assigned, almost onefourth(23 percent) were 23 years of age or older. The sample is racially and ethnically diverse:44 percent are Hispanic, 34 percent black, 10 percent white, and 8 percent Asian or PacificIslander. The vast majority of the sample members (88 percent) were receiving a Pell Grant.According to available data, 60 percent of the sample needed developmental instruction in onesubject (math, reading, or writing) and 27 percent needed instruction in two subjects. 8 AppendixTable A.1 shows some additional characteristics of the students in the sample from the BIF. Asthat table shows, most sample members were unmarried and did not have any children whenthey entered the study, and most lived with their parents. About one-third reported that they6 According to CUNY, 19 undocumented immigrants entered the ASAP program at the three colleges inthe study during the sample intake period.7 The MetroCard covered unlimited subway and bus fares for seven days and cost $27.8 Developmental education need is shown in Table 2.1 as “unknown” for students who did not haveCUNY Assessment Test data in all subject areas.11