An application of Clark and Estes' (2002) Gap Analysis Model: Closing knowledge, motivation, and organizational gaps that prevent Glendale Unified School District students from accessing four-year universities

This alternative capstone project examined and analyzed the four-year college access and participation problem in Glendale Unified School District (GUSD) through Clark and Estes' (2002) Gap Analysis Model. A three-member team of USC doctoral students assisted GUSD-- an urban-fringe school district in north Los Angeles-- by using the Gap Analysis process to unearth the root causes to the four-year college participation gap. Clark and Estes (2002) assert that gaps in performance are caused by three distinct factors: lack of knowledge and/or skills; lack of motivation; and, organizational/cultural barriers.;Our project team was brought in by GUSD to serve as a consultative/assistance team in helping the school district better understand and analyze the root causes that prevented certain student subgroups from entering four-year universities. The project team conducted extensive interviews to determine the root causes of GUSD's four-year college participation gap and organized our findings into three emergent themes: a lack of explicit goals; persistent barriers for specific minority students; and, systems that prevent students from maximizing the two-year to four-year college transfer pathway. In addition, research-based solutions to close respective gaps were identified. The solutions centered around the creation and communication of explicit goals regarding four-year colleges; increasing the overall number of four-year eligible students and providing strategic intervention for underrepresented minority students; and, maximizing the success rate of community college to four-year university transfer students. The findings, along with solutions for effective change, were presented to the GUSD Superintendent of Schools and his Cabinet.