Search Tips:

Search Tip 1: Searching the Entire Site:

In the blue bar near the top of each page is a search box that provides a convenient way to search all the Pathways to College Network's Libraries and the entire Pathways' website at once using a word or word combination of your choice. Enter search words into the blue bar. Click on "Search Site" (results will include the first 5 or fewer items relevant to your search from each library and the general site listed in 4 sections). To see additional items, click on "View All Results" in any section for which 5 items are listed.

Search Tip 2: Using the Research Studies Library:

You can either “browse” or “search” the library. Browsing allows you to see all the items related to a topic, one or more key words, or a combination of both. Searching allows you to find a specific document. • Browse a topic by selecting “Show All Items in Topic” to generate a listing of all of the catalogued items for that topic, or by selecting a keyword or any combination of keywords and clicking on “Show Keyword Items.” More keyword selections yields more results (an “OR” search). • Perform a Keyword Search from the Keyword Search Page. On the Research Studies page, click on “Search by one or multiple keywords.” Select a keyword to find items associated with that keyword or select multiple keywords to find items associated with all keywords. Note: for this search, more keywords produce fewer results (an “AND” search). Click on the Search button. The results of a keyword search are listed as a bibliography in alphabetical order by author. If a single keyword search produces too many results, try adding a second or third keyword. • To print search results, click on the browser’s print icon, go to the print menu, or press CTRL/p. • To send search results to an email address, click on the check boxes of the desired records in your search results bibliography, enter an email address in the text box, and click on “Email Selected Records.” Note: you may send to multiple addresses by separating email addresses with a comma. • “Smart Search” is a search strategy that intelligently finds items associated with the words or phrases you enter in the Search box. “Description” finds words you enter in the Search box in the short paragraph describing each item in the library.

Search Tip 3: Using the College Access and Success State Data Library:

• On the Home page, click on a state to go directly to data for that state or use the "Find Selected State Data" tool to locate a state and a specific information category. • For each state, you may browse the information categories in the left navigation area and select resources from any category. • You may search the state sites by entering the desired text in the Search box at the top of the page and clicking "Search".

Search Tip 4: Using the College Planning Resources:

• Conduct a word search for materials in the Directory by entering text in the Search box pertaining to the document title, description, or organization that produced the material. • Keyword search: using the 6 sets of keywords, you may use as many keywords as you wish to define your search. We recommend selecting an audience, content keyword, and any other keywords that could help to define what you seek.

About Us

Overview

The Pathways to College Network is an alliance of national organizations committed to working collaboratively to advance college access and success for underserved students, including those who are the first in their families to go to college, low-income students, underrepresented minorities, and students with disabilities.

Pathways emphasizes connecting policymakers, education leaders and practitioners, and community and philanthropic leaders with research on effective strategies for improving college preparation, enrollment, and completion. The core work of Pathways focuses on three ideas: increasing knowledge, supporting action, and raising awareness.

In 2004, Pathways published its milestone report, A Shared Agenda: A Leadership Challenge to Improve College Access and Success, summarizing effective polices and practices drawn from over 650 research studies and articulating six guiding principles that are central to all our work.

Guiding Principles

Expect that all underserved students are capable of being prepared to enroll and succeed in college.
Provide a range of high-quality college preparatory tools for underserved students and their families.
Embrace social, cultural, and learning-style differences in developing learning environments and activities for underserved students.
Involve leaders at all levels in establishing policies, programs, and practices that facilitate student transitions towards postsecondary attainment.
Maintain sufficient financial and human resources to enable underserved students to prepare for, enroll, and succeed in college.
Assess policy, program, practice, and institutional effectiveness regularly.

Core Work

Increase knowledge through research creation and synthesis
- Supporting new research about persistent barriers to college access and success and effective strategies for overcoming them.
- Synthesizing research that informs the efforts of policymakers and practitioners to improve college opportunities for underserved students.
Supporting action through the promotion of research-based policies and practices
- Serving as a 'hub' for the collection and dissemination of research reports, policy briefs, data, and other resources that address college access and success issues.
- Developing tools and products to support the implementation of research-based reforms.
Raising awareness through strategic communications
- Increasing understanding of college access and success issues among education leaders, policymakers, and opinion leaders.
- Engaging partners in furthering our college access and success mission.

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About Us

Overview

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