@techreport{ai25-1268,
  title = {{Comparative Cost Analyses of Community College Student Success Initiatives}},
  author = {Taylor Odle},
  institution = {Annenberg Institute at Brown University},
  type = {EdWorkingPaper},
  number = {25-1268},
  year = {2026},
  month = {June},
  doi = {10.26300/26et-xh16},
  url = {https://edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1268},
  abstract = {Limited resources hinder community college completion. Even with strategies shown to improve outcomes, decisionmakers still ask: What does it cost? Can we afford it? I present the first comparative cost analyses of six student success initiatives: basic needs supports, college/career success courses, early alerts, embedded tutoring, retention/emergency aid, and first-year experience programming. Documenting annual, per-student, and cost-distribution patterns, I show costs range from \$79,900 to \$2.9 million per year, or \$570 to over \$1,320 per student. Higher perstudent costs do not signal more comprehensive services, campus budgets are poor proxies for actual cost, and many programs rely precariously on in-kind support. This work equips decisionmakers with practical insights and expands the use of economic evaluation in education.},
}