Open- and broad-access public colleges (those with open or minimally selective admissions policies) serve the majority of Amer­ican undergraduates, especially those who come from low-income backgrounds or are the first in their families to attend college. In Mon­tana, more than 90 percent of undergraduates attend the 16 public institu­tions within the Montana University System; the remainder attend one of the state’s three private universities or seven tribal colleges. Despite the geographic spread of the institutions in the Montana University System, large swaths of Montana’s rural population live very far from any college. These “education deserts” force college aspirants to make difficult deci­sions about moving away from home, spending hours commuting, seeking out online options (if they have reliable internet service at home, which is not a given in rural places), or simply not pursuing postsecondary educa­tion at all. The difficulty of gaining access to higher education in rural places has significant implications for individuals’ earnings, health, and welfare, as well as for the economies of entire communities.

In response to the great need to improve college access and college comple­tion rates in the state and based on rigorous research evidence on what works to improve graduation rates for students from low-income backgrounds, Mon­tana’s Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education has developed and implemented a statewide initiative called Montana 10. The goal of Montana 10 is to meet the needs of Montana’s college students to ensure they enroll in and graduate from public colleges and universities in the state. In particular, Mon­tana 10 seeks to support students who live in rural areas, are from low-income families, are first-generation college students, or are Native American. This multifaceted program combines financial assistance, specialized advising and career services, and academic support, all in a one-stop shop for students. Montana 10 offers students two to four full years of services, depending on the length of their study program, and operates in all types of institutions in the state, from small, rural community colleges to the large, four-year flagship university.

MDRC is evaluating Montana 10 through a randomized controlled trial, in which students are ran­domly assigned to either the program (Montana 10) or a control group (“business as usual” at the college). In the first year of the program, there have been no detectable effects on student out­comes. Students in both the program group and the control group are performing at similar levels in their first academic year. Researchers found that in the first year of the program there was var­ied implementation of program components across colleges. Some components were well imple­mented while others were not. Some colleges reported challenges such as staffing turnover and difficulty using program data. Researchers will continue to track the study’s participants to see whether positive effects emerge over time. Given the long-term nature of the intervention, it is too early to make a final determination about the effectiveness of the program.

This brief summarizes the Montana 10 intervention, the research study, the study sample, and early qualitative and quantitative findings for a subset of the full sample. Future reports will include findings for all study participants as well as a student survey and a cost study.