Creating an academic achievement model to empower students with the resources and mentorship needed to thrive in higher education

In Los Angeles, approximately 26% of Black Los Angeles Unified School District graduates enroll at a four-year college or university and only 17% obtain a degree within six years according to the LA Promise Fund’s Black College Success (BCS) initiative. BCS, a South Los Angeles-focused program that partners with select colleges and universities to create pathways for college success, has collaborated with USC Rossier researchers to shift the trajectory. This partnership harnesses the expertise and educational leadership of both organizations to empower Black students with the resources, mentorship and support needed to thrive in higher education.

On Oct. 17, over 200 high school seniors from 13 local high schools attended an on-campus USC event as part of the BCS-USC Rossier collaboration. The goal of the research project is to address the systemic barriers faced by Black students and create a sustainable model for academic achievement and community empowerment.

Working with schools within the Los Angeles, Inglewood and Compton unified school districts, college access managers assist students at every step of the college admissions process, from writing workshops to application advising to financial aid guidance. “I like to think of [their managers] as these college access and success agents,” said Tr’Vel Lyons, adjunct assistant professor with the Center for Education, Identity and Social Justice. “Everything a student needs or could think of, they are there to provide.”

Now in its third year of the project, USC Rossier researchers survey students at BCS participating schools as well as students at schools not in the program. Through a U.S. Department of Education grant that BCS received, USC Rossier researchers primarily evaluate the program’s impact on Black high school seniors and students as they enter college. In addition to college advising, students also have access to peer mentors while attending college.

“We love the opportunity to help our students see beyond the community,” said Black College Success Executive Director Ibert Schultz. “USC has been such a great partner as it relates to the research and helping us to understand the efficacy of the work that we’re doing.” High school seniors can see themselves together on the academic journey to higher education, according to Schultz.

With approximately 300 high school seniors participating each year, USC researchers are responsible for evaluating the BCS program to determine whether the treatment is having the intended effect with students according to Darnell Cole, co-director of the Center for Education, Identity and Social Justice. Each year, a new cohort of high school seniors is enlisted into the program. “It’s not only about getting the schools on board,” Cole said. “But it is also about being thoughtful about what it takes for those schools and those students to take the time to participate in the study with us.”

“The partnership has been amazing with Dr. Cole, Tr’Vel and the team,” said Black College Success Director Jamia Morton. The thought partnership has helped BCS organizers shape the organization’s long term strategy as well as develop the role of college access managers and college success managers. Whether it is professional development, creating better internal systems or building student relationships, the exchange has established a baseline on how BCS could be better professionals according to Morton.

The results from the research project provide the rationale and the empirical data to request additional support for future students interested in participating in the BCS program according to Cole. “We can learn how this program impacts Black students and their college-going effort,” he said. The collaboration underscores the importance of community-focused educational reform and the transformative potential of higher education for underrepresented populations in Los Angeles.