Chapter ONe

Chapter one introduces some of the more disheartening statistics regarding the completion rates of community college students. While many community college students plan on obtaining a bachelor degree in the future, only a small percentage of them wind up even transferring - much less completing a 4 year degree within six years.   The authors point to a variety of causes - poor transfer agreements, , limited advising, and what they term as "curricular incoherence".

It is this idea that frames this chapter. The cafeteria style college, as opposed to a guided pathways model, does not structure the curriculum in a way that builds off other curriculum in previous classes. For example, many electives have no relevance or applicability to the students ultimate degree aspirations (if known). Exploring unique and different areas of study is not harmful in and of itself, however, it does not contribute to helping students scaffold knowledge in a systematic way. The authors suggest that aligning program outcomes with students goals is the most appropriate way to not only maintain student motivation but to effectively build student skills and achieve desired learning outcomes (both for students and the college) .