As people strive to succeed in postsecondary education and employment, they can face considerable challenges. Various academic, work, and personal issues can interfere with a student’s ability to stay in school and graduate and with a worker’s ability to find a job, stay employed, and advance. Community and technical colleges commonly provide advising and coaching to support students in navigating these obstacles. Workforce development programs and other programs designed to help people find and retain jobs often include coaching as a component as well.

MDRC—a leader in developing and applying evidence to improve policies and programs that serve people with low incomes—has decades of experience evaluating programs that include advising and coaching. MDRC also designs advising and coaching interventions and provides technical assistance to colleges, university systems, state agencies, and workforce development programs. Through this work, MDRC has found that advising and coaching are central to many programs that improve college and workforce outcomes, but how these services are implemented matters.

Drawing on MDRC’s research, program design, and technical assistance work, this brief shares lessons for college and workforce program administrators about advising and coaching. The lessons are synthetic, across advising and coaching and across the two policy domains. The brief also provides illustrative examples from colleges and workforce programs.