Working Families Success Network in
Community College (WFSNCC) Initiative
Nineteen community colleges in four states working to
implement a strategy to promote postsecondary completion for
students whose economic challenges can thwart their academic
and career goals.
Brief History of the WFSN Strategy
• Pioneered by the Annie E. Casey Foundation through its
Center for Working Families (CWF) investments
• MDC Network of Center for Working Families
Community Colleges
• National Network (LISC and United Way)
• 100 sites to date
Arkansas
Association of
Two-Year
Colleges
Phillips Community College
North Arkansas College
East Arkansas Community College
College of the Ouachitas
California
Community
Colleges
Chancellor’s
Office
Washington
State Board for
Community
and Technical
Colleges
Virginia
Community
College System
Skyline College
Porterville College
Canada College
Cabrillo College
East LA College
LA Harbor College
LA Southwest College
Big Bend Community College
Walla Walla Community College
Highline College
Clark College
Northern Virginia Community College
Patrick Henry Community College
Eastern Shore Community College
Danville Community College
Three Pillars of WFSN
Education
and
Employment
Services
Income and
Work
Supports
Financial
Services
and Asset
Building
Goals & Expectations
Initiative Goals
Goal 1
Goal 2
• To strengthen the evidence base for
implementing the WFSNCC strategy in
community colleges by highlighting the ways in
which it contributes to higher persistence,
completion, and job attainment rates for lowincome students.
• To demonstrate that embedding the WFSN
strategy in college processes and systems can
be cost effective and has the potential to
catalyze institutional culture change.
WFSNCC Services
LEVELS OF SERVICE
Low-touch and High-touch
Low-touch Services
Low touch services are defined as standardized services designed to
reach a broad range of students via group settings such as
orientation or student success classes.
High-touch Services
High touch services are defined as one-on-one interactions that
provide a specific service or set of services to a targeted number of
students who have been identified as needing more intensive
support.
Six New or Expanded Services
Education and Employment Services:
• One high-touch service
• One low-touch service
Financial Services and Asset Building
• One high-touch service
• One low-touch service
Income and Work Supports
• One high-touch service
• One low-touch service
Required
Services
Employment
and Education
Income and
Work
Financial
Literacy and
Asset Building
Low-touch
options, new
or expanded?
Information
on public
benefits, lowtouch REQUIRED
Financial
literacy
integrated,
low-touch REQUIRED
High-touch
options, new
or expanded?
High-touch
options, new
or expanded?
Financial
Coaching, 1:1
high-touch REQUIRED
Students to be Served
Colleges are expected to provide WFSNCC core services to new as
well as to current students. Implementation plans should include
strategies for reaching both types of students and describe the
expected outcomes for each.
Scale Goals
Low touch
High
touch*
College <10,000 students
College > 10,000 students
25% of low-income
students by year three and
40-50% by year five
A threshold of serving at
least 20% of students who
need high touch services
receiving at least one high
touch service by year 3
25% of low-income students
by year three and a larger
percentage by year five.
a threshold of serving at least
10% of the students who need
high-touch services in a large
college will receive at least
one high touch service by
year 3
Timing of Services
All services the college will offer as part of WFSNCC services must
be operational and being offered to students by July 2016. These
services will form the basis for measuring student progress and
outcomes for evaluation purposes.
Use and Access to Data
• Collection of data
• Collaboration with Phase II Evaluator
• Third party services
Achieving Racial Equity
• Colleges should demonstrate a strategy to ensure that students of
color are served through WFSNCC low- and high-touch services.
• ATD and Funders expect that colleges will establish deliberate
strategies and mechanisms to ensure that WFSNCC staff and
programs are culturally sensitive, that access to WFSNCC services
is proactively promoted to students of color and that benchmarks
and monitoring strategies are used to identify when racial equity
goals are not being met so that colleges can do course corrections.
Uses of Funds
• Planning and Implementing core WFSNCC
services.
• Expanding and Scaling core WFSN services.
• Participation costs related to the initiative.
Examples of these efforts include:
• Staff development/training in any of the three core
WFSN service areas.
• Revisions to existing data systems to more effectively
track participation and outcomes of WFSN students.
• Communications campaigns to bolster outreach to
prospective WFSN students.
• Travel expenses related to participation in WFSN-related
cross and intra-state learning events; and other planning
and infrastructure development.
Fundraising
• Sustainability
• Institutional Funds
• External Funds
Grant Period
• Year One: January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015
• Year Two: January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016
• Year Three: January 1, 2017 to June 30, 2017
Timeline
Draft Implementation Plans
• Due on Friday, May 1st
• Please submit to [email protected]
Outline of Section I of Implementation Plan
• Due Friday, April 3rd
• Please submit to [email protected]
Technical Assistance Calls
• Begin week of March 9th
Timeline continued
Final Implementation Plans
• Due Friday, May 29th.
Grant agreements
• Achieving the Dream will send grant agreements for review,
signature, and return the week of March 9th.
Financial Coaching
• April and June
Contact Information
• Julian Haynes
• [email protected]
• Elyssa Shildneck
• [email protected]
• General WFSN Inquiries
• [email protected]