Final Evaluation Report of Year Up’s 

Professional Training Corps

in Philadelphia

October 2018

Volume 2: Appendices

Prepared by:

Rebecca Maynard

Rebecca Baelen

Phomdaen Souvanna

David Fein

Azim Shivji

Prepared for:

GreenLight Fund

200 Clarendon Street, 44th Floor

Boston, MA 02116

Submitted by:

Abt Associates 

6130 Executive Blvd.

Rockville, MD 20852

(301) 347-5000

In Partnership with:

Year Up

45 Milk Street, 9th Floor

Boston, MA 02109
Final Evaluation Report of Year Up’s Professional Training Corps in Philadelphia

Appendices

About Abt Associates

Founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1965, Abt provides applied research and consulting services to 

government agencies, philanthropic, nonprofit, and commercial organizations around the world. Abt’s 

mission is to improve the quality of life and economic well-being of people worldwide. It applies its 

exceptional subject matter expertise, outstanding technical capabilities in applied research, and strategic 

planning to help local, national and international clients make better decisions and deliver better services.

About the Social Innovation Fund

This report is based upon work supported by the Social Innovation Fund (SIF). 

The Social Innovation Fund (SIF) was a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service 

that received funding from 2010 to 2016. Using public and private resources to find and grow 

community-based nonprofits with evidence of results, SIF intermediaries received funding to award 

subgrants that focus on overcoming challenges in economic opportunity, healthy futures, and youth 

development. Although CNCS made its last SIF intermediary awards in fiscal year 2016, SIF 

intermediaries will continue to administer their subgrant programs until their federal funding is exhausted. 
Final Evaluation Report of Year Up’s Professional Training Corps in Philadelphia

Appendices

Abt Associates Contents ▌pg. i

Content

Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................................iii

Appendix A: Supplemental Tables............................................................................................................ 1

Appendix B: Updated Year Up Theory of Change-2017......................................................................... 9

Appendix C: Admissions Readiness Rubric ........................................................................................... 11

Appendix D: Career Development and Interpersonal Relations Course Curriculum—2017 ........... 13

Appendix E: Year Up’s Post Program Outcome Targets ..................................................................... 17

Appendix F: Program Staffing and Staff Tenure July 2018 ................................................................. 21

Appendix G: Organizational Chart for the Philadelphia Professional Training Corps (PTC) 

Program, August 2018 .............................................................................................................................. 23

Appendix H: Participant Survey Questions (Supplements to the Pre-internship Survey) ................ 25

Appendix I: Bi-weekly Monitoring Guide .............................................................................................. 27

Appendix J: Coach Survey (Cycle 2 Coaches) ....................................................................................... 29

Appendix K: Site Observation Protocol.................................................................................................. 31

Appendix L: Participant Focus Group Guide........................................................................................ 35

Appendix M: Staff Interview Guide........................................................................................................ 39

Appendix N: Tips for Engaging with Instructors (from Academic Coaching Binder)....................... 45

Appendix O: Troubleshooting Academic Challenges (from Academic Coaching Binder)................ 47

Appendix P: Warm-Up Questions Suggestions (from Academic Coaching Binder).......................... 49

Appendix Q: Weekly Academic Notes Sheet Used for Coaching Participants in the Alternative 

Strategies Group ....................................................................................................................................... 51
Final Evaluation Report of Year Up’s Professional Training Corps in Philadelphia

Appendices

Abt Associates Contents ▌pg. ii

List of Tables

Table A.1. Characteristics of Participants in the Philadelphia Professional Training Corps (PTC-P) ......... 1

Table A.2. Characteristics of Participants in the Professional Training Corps (PTC) Program, by 

Cohort ........................................................................................................................................................... 2

Table A.3. Demographic and Backgrounds Characteristics of the Study Sample, By Treatment 

Group (Percentage of Sample with Valid Data for Indicated Characteristic)............................................... 3

Table A.4. Demographic and Backgrounds Characteristics of the Study Sample, By Enrollment 

Cycle (Percentage of Sample with Valid Data for Indicated Characteristic)................................................ 4

Table A.5. Demographic and Background Characteristics of the Study Sample Members Who 

Responded to the Participant Survey (Adjusted for Survey Non-response), by Treatment Group............... 5

Table A.6. Participants’ Reported Views of Their Experience in Learning and Development, By 

Treatment Group—Weighted to Account for Survey Non-response............................................................ 7
Final Evaluation Report of Year Up’s Professional Training Corps in Philadelphia

Appendices

Abt Associates Acknowledgements ▌pg. iii

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the many people who have made valuable contributions to this report. This report 

would not have been possible without the support and dedication of Year Up’s evaluation staff—Garrett 

Warfield and Jessica Britt—who helped implement and monitor study procedures, coordinate site visits, 

provide program data and documents, and offer thoughtful feedback on drafts of this report and other 

study materials. We thank all of the Year Up Professional Training Corps (PTC) staff in Philadelphia, as 

well as those staff in New York and Jacksonville, Florida, who provided invaluable support for the impact 

study. We also would like to thank all of the young adults who agreed to participate in the study, 

responded to the survey, and participated in focus groups. Additionally, we are grateful to many members 

of Year Up’s National Program Team, to employers, and to Peirce College staff who spent time with the 

evaluation team supporting the evaluation in a variety of ways.

We are grateful to the Corporation for National and Community Service’s Social Innovation Fund and the 

GreenLight Fund for core funding to support the study and to the Institute of Education Sciences, which 

provided some support for the impact evaluation. Finally, we extend our sincere thanks to Larry Bailis 

and the team from the Center for Youth and Communities at Brandeis University for helpful feedback on 

both our initial work plan for the study, interim reports during the study period, and a draft of this final 

report. 
Final Evaluation Report of Year Up’s Professional Training Corps in Philadelphia

Appendices

Abt Associates Acknowledgements ▌pg. iv

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Final Evaluation Report of Year Up’s Professional Training Corps in Philadelphia

Appendices

Abt Associates Appendix A ▌pg. 1

Appendix A: Supplemental Tables

Table A.1. Characteristics of Participants in the Philadelphia Professional Training Corps (PTC-P)

July

2014

January 

2015

July

2015

January 

2016

July

2016

January 

2017

July

2017

January 

2018

July

2018

January 

2019 Total

Average Age 19.9 20.6 19.6 19.9 20.3 20.5 20.3 20.4 20.3 20.1 20.1

Gender

Female (%) 66.7 45.5 32.7 36.0 51.3 36.8 45.0 45.5 36.8 30.0 40.5

Have Child (%)

Yes 0.0 8.7 9.6 18.0 12.8 23.7 5.0 10.9 7.0 16.0 11.8

No 0.0 65.2 61.5 58.0 74.4 68.4 90.0 89.1 86.0 82.0 72.0

No Data 100.0 26.1 28.8 24.0 12.8 7.9 5.0 0.0 7.0 2.0 16.2

Receives Government Assistance (%)

Yes 0.0 0.0 11.5 20.0 17.9 28.9 17.5 29.1 24.6 38.0 21.2

No 0.0 17.4 59.6 50.0 53.8 57.9 72.5 70.9 68.4 62.0 56.7

No Data 100.0 82.6 28.8 30.0 28.2 13.2 10.0 0.0 7.0 0.0 22.1

Number of Risk Factors (%)

0-1 3.6 47.8 71.2 64.0 35.9 9.1 47.5 10.9 29.8 14.0 38.4

2-5 0.7 34.8 25.0 36.0 38.5 34.1 25.0 41.8 31.6 46.0 34.4

6+ 0.4 17.4 1.9 0.0 25.6 11.4 12.5 23.6 10.5 38.0 15.3

No Data 0.0 0.0 1.9 0.0 0.0 31.8 15.0 23.6 28.1 2.0 12.0

Criminal Record (%)

Yes 0.0 4.3 1.9 8.0 10.3 2.6 7.5 5.5 1.8 6.0 4.9

No 100.0 95.7 96.2 92.0 89.7 60.5 77.5 70.9 70.2 92.0 83.1

No Data 0.0 0.0 1.9 0.0 0.0 36.8 15.0 23.6 28.1 2.0 12.0

Has Taken College Classes (%)

Yes 0.0 39.1 30.8 46.0 43.6 44.7 35.0 40.0 28.1 48.0 37.2

No 4.8 21.7 67.3 50.0 53.8 47.4 55.0 60.0 64.9 52.0 52.5

No Data 95.2 39.1 1.9 4.0 2.6 7.9 10.0 0.0 7.0 0.0 10.4

Number of Enrollees 21 23 52 50 39 38 40 55 57 50 425

Source: Year Up Salesforce data from application and enrollment forms.
Final Evaluation Report of Year Up’s Professional Training Corps in Philadelphia

Appendices

Abt Associates Appendix A ▌pg. 2

Table A.2. Characteristics of Participants in the Professional Training Corps (PTC) Program, by Cohort

July

2014

January 

2015

July

2015

January 

2016

July

2016

January 

2017

July

2017

January 

2018

July

2018

January 

2019 Total

Age (Average) 19.2 20.0 19.2 20.4 20.0 20.6 19.9 20.8 20.2 20.8 20.4

Gender (%)

Female 40.0 32.6 34.5 32.6 39.5 42.0 41.0 35.6 38.6 41.3 39.0

Have Child (%) 

Yes 3.0 6.3 7.0 10.8 5.9 8.4 5.4 6.6 5.6 9.7 7.1

No 48.0 76.8 75.4 74.2 69.9 67.6 88.6 87.1 85.7 88.9 82.2

No Data 49.0 16.8 17.6 14.9 24.2 24.0 6.0 6.3 8.6 1.3 10.7

Receives Government Assistance (%)

Yes 14.0 8.4 13.4 17.5 16.0 19.5 14.4 14.4 14.7 15.1 15.1

No 36.0 56.8 64.8 58.8 57.2 53.2 78.7 70.4 74.9 80.5 70.1

No Data 50.0 34.7 21.8 23.7 26.8 27.3 6.9 15.2 10.4 4.4 14.8

Number of Risk Factors (%)

0-1 56 26 45 36 24 23 27 19 21 20 24

2-5 35 29 49 55 39 38 38 44 35 40 40

6+ 8 8 6 6 21 27 23 29 35 35 27

No Data 0 37 1 2 16 12 12 9 9 5 9 

Criminal Record (%)

Yes 14.0 8.4 13.4 17.5 16.0 19.5 14.4 14.4 14.7 15.1 15.1

No 36.0 56.8 64.8 58.8 57.2 53.2 78.7 70.4 74.9 80.5 70.1

No Data 50.0 34.7 21.8 23.7 26.8 27.3 6.9 15.2 10.4 4.4 14.8

Has Taken College Classes (%)

Yes 41.0 57.9 51.4 63.4 46.1 52.6 42.7 47.3 39.4 53.0 47.6

No 28.0 31.6 43.0 35.6 46.1 35.7 52.8 39.3 50.5 45.1 44.3

No Data 31.0 10.5 5.6 1.0 7.8 11.7 4.5 13.4 10.1 1.9 8.1

Number of Enrollees 100 95 142 194 306 333 534 666 835 821 4026

Source: Year Up Salesforce data from application and enrollment forms.
Final Evaluation Report of Year Up’s Professional Training Corps in Philadelphia

Appendices

Abt Associates Appendix A ▌pg. 3

Table A.3. Demographic and Backgrounds Characteristics of the Study Sample, By Treatment Group (Percentage of 

Sample with Valid Data for Indicated Characteristic)

Treatment Group

Total 

Sample

Alternative Strategies 

Group

Usual 

Strategies Group Difference p-value

Gender = Female 49.5 48.7 50.3 -1.6 0.7751

Race-ethnicity 0.2435

Black or African American 71.6 71.4 71.8 -0.4

Hispanic or Latino 15.2 12.3 17.2 -4.9

White or Other Race 14.0 16.2 11.0 5.2

Age 0.1620

Under 20 44.4 47.4 41.1 6.3

20-22 41.1 35.1 45.4 -10.3

23 or older 15.7 17.5 13.5 4.0

Number of Risk Factors 0.8740

0-1 26.3 24.1 28.3 -4.2

2-3 36.2 36.9 35.5 1.4

4-5 16.9 17.0 16.7 0.3

6+ 20.9 22.0 19.6 2.4

Prior College (Any) 0.4903

0 years 41.4 39.6 42.9 -3.3

<1 years 26.9 25.3 28.2 -2.9

1+ years 32.2 35.1 28.8 6.3

Prior College (FTE) 0.7962

0 years 41.4 39.6 42.9 -3.3

<1 years 37.2 37.7 36.8 0.9

1+ years 21.5 22.7 20.2 2.5

Sample Size 317 154 163 317

Source: Year Up program data.

Notes: The study sample consists of opportunity youth who were first enrolled in Year Up with the January 2018 or July 2018 

cohort at the three sites. Data on number of risk factors is missing for 12 percent of the study sample. The statistical significance 

levels of differences across sample subgroups are denoted by asterisks: * denotes less than 10, ** less than 5, and *** less than 

1 level on a two-tailed test.
Final Evaluation Report of Year Up’s Professional Training Corps in Philadelphia

Appendices

Abt Associates Appendix A ▌pg. 4

Table A.4. Demographic and Backgrounds Characteristics of the Study Sample, By Enrollment Cycle (Percentage of 

Sample with Valid Data for Indicated Characteristic)

Cycle/Enrollment Cohort

Total

Cycle 1: 

Jan. 2018 Cohort

Cycle 2: 

July 2018 Cohort Difference p-value

Gender = Female 47.2 50.3 48.8 1.5 0.7847

Race-ethnicity 0.5730

Black or African American 71.6 68.9 74.1 -5.2

Hispanic or Latino 14.9 15.9 13.9 2.0

White or Other Race 13.5 15.2 12.0 3.2

Age <.0001

Under 20 44.2 30.5 56.6 -26.1

20-22 40.4 53.0 28.9 24.1

23 or older 15.5 16.6 14.5 2.1

Number of Risk Factors <.0001 

0-1 26.5 13.1 38.7 -25.6

2-3 36.1 39.4 33.1 6.3

4-5 16.8 19.0 14.8 4.2

6+ 20.6 28.5 13.4 15.1

Prior College (Any) 0.0298

0 years 41.3 33.8 48.2 -14.4

<1 years 26.8 29.1 24.7 4.4

1+ years 31.9 37.1 27.1 10.0

Prior College (FTE) 0.0085

0 years 41.3 33.8 48.2 -14.4

<1 years 37.2 38.4 36.1 2.3

1+ years 21.5 27.8 15.7 12.1

Sample Size 317 151 166 317

Source: Year Up program data. 

Notes: The study sample consists of opportunity youth who were first enrolled in Year Up with the January 2018 or July 2018 

cohort at the three sites. Data on number of risk factors is missing for 12 percent of the study sample. The statistical significance 

levels of differences across sample subgroups are denoted by asterisks: * denotes less than 10, ** less than 5, and *** less than 

1 level on a two-tailed test. 
Final Evaluation Report of Year Up’s Professional Training Corps in Philadelphia

Appendices

Abt Associates Appendix A ▌pg. 5

Table A.5. Demographic and Background Characteristics of the Study Sample Members Who Responded to the 

Participant Survey (Adjusted for Survey Non-response), by Treatment Group

Treatment Group Mean

Alternative 

Strategies 

Group

Usual 

Strategies 

Group Difference p-value

Gender = Female 50.9% 52.7% -1.8% 0.790

Race-ethnicity 0.202

Black or African American 70.9% 74.0% -3.1%

Hispanic or Latino 11.3% 15.8% -4.5%

White or Another Race 17.8% 10.3% 7.5%

Age 0.307

Under 20 48.6% 45.8% 2.8%

20-22 34.0% 42.5% -8.5%

23 or older 17.3% 11.7% 5.6%

Number of Risk Factors 0.728

0-1 25.2% 31.7% -6.5%

2-3 36.7% 36.5% 0.2%

4-5 15.9% 12.7% 3.2%

6+ 22.2% 19.1% 3.1%

Prior College (Any) 0.316

0 years 37.6% 46.5% -8.9%

<1 years 27.2% 26.7% 0.5%

1+ years 35.2% 26.7% 8.5%

Prior College (FTE) 0.321

0 years 37.6% 46.5% -8.9%

<1 years 39.8% 37.0% 2.8%

1+ years 22.5% 16.5% 6.0% 

High School Grades (Survey Q7) 

Mostly As 23.2% 14.4% 8.8%

Mostly Bs 46.9% 56.2% -9.3% 

Mostly Cs 24.1% 28.8% -4.7%

Mostly Ds or Fs 2.5% 0.7% 1.8%

Courses Taken for College Credit Before YU (Survey Q8) 0.426

0 37.2% 45.2% -8.0%

1-3 19.8% 13.7% 6.1%

4-7 13.9% 16.4% -2.5%

8+ 29.1% 24.7% 4.4%

Difficulty of Courses Taken for College Credit Before YU (Survey Q9) 0.775

Very difficult 7.9% 5.0% 2.9%

Somewhat difficult 62.4% 63.7% -1.3%

Not difficult at all 29.7% 31.3% -1.6%

Courses Completed for College Credit Before YU (Survey Q10) 0.426

0 1.1% 4.2% -3.1%

1-3 42.3% 38.9% 3.4%

4-7 24.1% 27.8% -3.7%

8+ 32.5% 29.2% 3.3%

Difficulty of Courses Taken for College Credit Before YU (Survey Q9) 0.776 

Very difficult 7.9% 5.0% 2.9%

Somewhat difficult 62.4% 63.7% -1.3%

Not difficult at all 29.7% 31.3% -1.6%

Missing 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Final Evaluation Report of Year Up’s Professional Training Corps in Philadelphia

Appendices

Abt Associates Appendix A ▌pg. 6

Treatment Group Mean

Alternative 

Strategies 

Group

Usual 

Strategies 

Group Difference p-value

Courses Completed for College Credit Before YU (Survey Q10) 0.624

0 41.5% 35.0% 6.5%

1-3 23.7% 25.0% -1.3%

4-7 31.9% 26.3% 5.6%

8+ 1.8% 10.0% -8.2%

Sample Size

Total Study Sample 154 163 317

Survey Respondents 136 116 252

Response Rate 88% 71% 79% 

Source: Year Up Program Data.

Note: The study sample consists of youth who were first enrolled in Year Up with the January 2018 or July 2018 cohort at the 

three study sites. The statistical significance of differences in mean between the Usual and Alternative Strategies groups in the 

differences in impact estimates across sample subgroups are denoted by asterisks: * denotes less than 10%, ** less than 5%, 

and *** less than 1% level on a two-tailed test.
Final Evaluation Report of Year Up’s Professional Training Corps in Philadelphia

Appendices

Abt Associates Appendix A ▌pg. 7

Table A.6. Participants’ Reported Views of Their Experience in Learning and Development, By Treatment Group—Weighted to Account for Survey Non-response

Treatment 

Group Means

95 Confidence 

Interval 

P-value for 

Heterogeneity 

Test of 

Differences: Sample Size

Measure

Alternative 

Strategies 

Usual 

Strategies Difference P-Value 

Lower 

Bound

Upper 

Bound

By

Site

By

Cohort

Alternative 

Strategies 

Usual 

Strategies

 

 

 

 

Academic Challenges & Support

Frequency participants encountered the [NAMED] challenge in 

their most difficult course (1 = never - 3 = often)

Attending class regularly 1.70 1.87 -0.17 0.1831 -0.42 0.08 0.83 0.94 129 114

Keeping up with assignments 1.99 2.06 -0.07 0.5072 -0.27 0.13 0.06 0.82 133 114

Doing well on assignments/exams 2.11 1.99 0.12 0.2263 -0.07 0.31 0.12 0.02 132 114

Understanding lectures and readings 1.98 2.08 -0.10 0.3653 -0.30 0.11 0.02 0.09 131 113

Understanding the course requirements 1.90 1.91 -0.01 0.9306 -0.23 0.21 0.68 0.27 133 114

Frequency participants encountered the [NAMED] challenge in 

most difficult course (AMONG participants who identified a 

course as very difficult or somewhat difficult) (1 = never - 3 = 

often)

Attending class regularly 1.68 1.93 -0.25 0.0701 -0.51 0.02 0.72 0.89 116 116

Keeping up with assignments 2.02 2.14 -0.12 0.2256 -0.32 0.08 0.08 0.86 119 119

Doing well on assignments/exams 2.18 2.02 0.16 0.0841 -0.02 0.35 0.01 0.02 118 118

Understanding lectures and readings 2.06 2.17 -0.12 0.2547 -0.32 0.08 0.01 0.00 117 117

Understanding the course requirements 1.99 2.00 -0.01 0.9320 -0.24 0.22 0.29 0.45 119 119

Frequency participants received timely feedback and support 

when challenges in most difficult course occurred, from the 

following sources (1 = never - 3 = often)

College instructors 2.22 2.20 0.02 0.8246 -0.17 0.21 0.89 0.56 128 107

Year Up staff 2.53 2.55 -0.03 0.7522 -0.19 0.14 0.91 0.02 128 108

Other participants in the class 2.40 2.39 0.00 0.9946 -0.20 0.20 0.46 0.16 132 111

Tutors at the college 1.60 1.47 0.14 0.2483 -0.10 0.37 0.28 0.95 109 83

Tutors online 1.28 1.46 -0.18 0.1316 -0.42 0.06 0.73 0.89 106 80

Frequency participants received timely feedback and support 

when challenges in their most difficult course occurred, from 

[SOURCE] (AMONG participants who identified a course as 

very or somewhat difficult) (1 = never - 3 = often)

College instructors 2.20 2.19 0.01 0.951 -0.19 0.21 0.67 0.47 114 96

Year Up staff 2.53 2.57 -0.04 0.638 -0.21 0.13 0.63 0.03 115 97
Final Evaluation Report of Year Up’s Professional Training Corps in Philadelphia

Appendices

Abt Associates Appendix A ▌pg. 8

Treatment 

Group Means

95 Confidence 

Interval 

P-value for 

Heterogeneity 

Test of 

Differences: Sample Size

Measure

Alternative 

Strategies 

Usual 

Strategies Difference P-Value 

Lower 

Bound

Upper 

Bound

By

Site

By

Cohort

Alternative 

Strategies 

Usual 

Strategies

Other students in the class 2.38 2.43 -0.05 0.631 -0.26 0.16 0.18 0.41 118 100

Tutors at the college 1.61 1.47 0.14 0.263 -0.11 0.38 0.27 0.94 96 76

Tutors online 1.28 1.45 -0.17 0.192 -0.42 0.09 0.87 0.84 93 72

Frequency Communicated with Coach (1 = less than once a 

month - 5 = daily)

Average Frequency 3.79 3.71 0.08 0.512 -0.16 0.33 0.93 0.32 131 113

Participant Assessment of Supports Received

Quality of feedback and support participant received for 

college course, from [SOURCE] (1 = excellent - 4 = poor)

Course instructor 1.78 1.90 -0.12 0.286 -0.34 0.10 0.99 0.75 128 109

Other college staff 1.97 1.90 0.07 0.543 -0.15 0.29 0.49 0.41 110 91

Year Up staff 1.45 1.67 -0.22 0.042 -0.43 -0.01 0.52 0.98 129 109

Other students in the class 1.77 1.69 0.08 0.436 -0.12 0.28 0.21 0.99 128 105

Tutors at the college 2.01 2.17 -0.16 0.440 -0.57 0.25 0.28 0.39 54 48

Tutors online 2.26 2.02 0.24 0.331 -0.25 0.72 0.17 0.82 37 35

Overall rating of Year Up Experiences

Rating of program experiences relative to expectations (1 = did 

not meet expectations - 5 = far exceeded them))

Technical skills training 3.22 2.97 0.25 0.06 -0.01 0.53 0.23 0.29 131 113

Professional skills training 3.63 3.50 0.13 0.35 -0.14 0.41 0.08 0.60 131 113

Business communication skills training 3.53 3.38 0.15 0.26 -0.11 0.41 0.04 0.60 131 113

Overall Learning & Development experience 3.61 3.46 0.15 0.26 -0.11 0.41 0.15 0.57 131 113

Feeling about preparation for internship (1 = not at all 

prepared - completely prepared)

3.79 3.81 -0.02 0.89 -0.25 0.22 0.52 0.71 116 102

Likelihood of recommending Year Up to a friend, colleague, or 

family member (0 = not at all likely - 10 = extremely likely)

8.56 8.17 0.40 0.26 -0.29 1.09 0.03 0.29 131 113

Source: These data are from an on-line survey administered to participants. Participants who completed the Learning and Development (L&D) phase of the program received the 

survey very near the completion of L&D. Those who left the program before completing L&D were asked to complete the survey shortly after they left the program. It was an 

augmented version of the Pre-internship Survey Year Up has participants complete prior to entering their internship positions.

Notes: Overall, 79 of participants in the study sample completed the survey—88 of those in the Alternative Strategies group and 71 of those in the Usual Strategies Group. Data 

on number of risk factors is missing for 12 percent of the study sample. The statistical significance levels of differences across sample subgroups are denoted by asterisks: *

denotes less than 10, ** less than 5, and *** less than 1 level on a two-tailed test.
Final Evaluation Report of Year Up’s Professional Training Corps in Philadelphia

Appendices

Abt Associates Appendix B ▌pg. 9

Appendix B: Updated Year Up Theory of Change-2017
Final Evaluation Report of Year Up’s Professional Training Corps in Philadelphia

Appendices

Abt Associates Appendix B ▌pg. 10

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Final Evaluation Report of Year Up’s Professional Training Corps in Philadelphia

Appendices

Abt Associates Appendix C ▌pg. 11

Appendix C: Admissions Readiness Rubric

HIGH LEVEL RATINGS

0 1 2 3 4 

 Applicant does not articulate 

any potential barriers to 

success here

 Applicant has no history of 

this being a barrier or causing 

challenges in academic/work 

settings

 Potential challenge is 

articulated by applicant, but a 

documented, sustainable 

plan is in place

 Challenge is highly unlikely to 

negatively impact the 

applicant during the program

 Evidence of no impact on 

prior work/academic 

experience

 Proactively able to 

communicate the plan in 

place to Year Up staff

 Potential challenge is 

articulated by applicant

 Applicant is able to provide 

evidence that they have been 

able to/have the potential to 

successfully address issues 

in past job/academic settings 

with minimal additional 

support, outside of individual 

problem solving/pursuing 

resources

 Documented, sustainable 

plan is in place for any 

potential challenges

 Potential challenge is 

articulated by applicant

 Challenge presents strong 

potential to be a barrier of 

success in 

academic/professional setting

 Applicant has stated past 

impact of this challenge on 

academic/professional 

environment

 Applicant is in need of 

additional resources 

(possible Participant Services 

referral/resource) but, with 

resources in place, applicant 

has potential to be able to be 

successful in 

academic/professional setting

 With resources, would be 

able to provide a 

documented, sustainable 

plan

 During the Admissions 

process, applicant meets 

deadlines to put plan in place

 Challenge is articulated by 

applicant that would be a 

clear barrier to success in 

academic/professional setting

 Challenge requires support 

beyond what Year Up can 

provide 

 Applicant has stated past 

impact of this challenge on 

academic/professional 

environment

 Even with referral to 

resources, applicant would 

be unable to develop 

documented, sustainable 

plan for overcoming the 

challenge, within the 

Admissions cycle

 During Admissions process, 

applicant does not meet 

deadlines to put plan in place

OVERALL READINESS RATING

This is determined by the highest readiness rating number that appears for any one factor. For example, if an applicant has a 2 rating for any of the factors, then their overall 

readiness rating is a 2.

Source: Year Up staff communication. 
Final Evaluation Report of Year Up’s Professional Training Corps in Philadelphia

Appendices

Abt Associates Appendix C ▌pg. 12

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Final Evaluation Report of Year Up’s Professional Training Corps in Philadelphia

Appendices

Abt Associates Appendix D ▌pg. 13

Appendix D: Career Development and Interpersonal Relations Course 

Curriculum—2017

Career Development and Interpersonal Relations

Cohort 

Instructor Contact Information:

I. Course Description:

In this 13-week course and in preparation for the workplace, participants will improve their 

professional development skills and self-marketing tools, such as interviewing, writing resumes, and 

building and maintaining a personal brand, as well as the importance of effective communication as 

an essential component of professional behavior. Participants will also learn a variety of practices 

related to developing positive and productive relationships with colleagues, as well as the 

importance of professional goal setting. Practicing their critical thinking, students will also engage 

in exploring components of the Opportunity Divide to highlight the importance of professional 

communication and collaborative teamwork in the workplace.

The course will cover the five following modules:

Module 1: Building a Professional Foundation

Module 2: Managing Individual and Group Workplace Interactions

Module 3: Exploring Business Writing and Networking Opportunities

Module 4: Applying Professional Skills

Module 5: Preparing for the Internship and Beyond

II. Learning Objectives: Upon completion of the course, the student will:

• Understand the principles and techniques of effective communication and multiple learning 

styles

• Apply professional communication strategies to working in a team and with a supervisor, 

managing workplace conflict, professional etiquette, and conflict management. 

• Refine professional portfolios through construction of effective cover letters, resumes, 

networking pitches, social media profiles, and action plans that reflect immediate and long-term 

professional goals.

• Identify and apply principal components of effective interviewing, including interview 

preparation, effective non-verbal behaviors, and interview follow-up.

• Understand structural implications of the Opportunity Divide and identify strategies for civic 

engagement.

• Provide constructive feedback to peers and incorporate feedback to improve and their work.

III. Required Texts and Materials: All required readings will be available via Schoology.
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IV. Year Up Grading System: 

This grading schematic is designed to give each student the best opportunity to succeed in this class. 

Your instructor realizes that different students have different “strengths” and wants to give every 

student the opportunity to excel.

V. Grading Scale: 

A: 90-100%

B: 80-89%

C. 70-79%

F. 0-69%

Minimum Passing Score: 70%

VI. Course Policies and Requirements:

• Late Work Policy: For each day an assignment is late, 10% will be deducted from the final 

grade. After three days have passed, the assignment will be recorded as a 0. If a student fails

to meet a deadline for a contract assignment, an infraction will be recorded as specified in the 

Student Contract.

• Communication: Schoology (see end of document for more information) will be the primary 

method of communication. This includes both announcements, instructions, materials, and 

assignments. If a student is going to be late turning in an assignment, they are responsible for 

emailing the instructor ahead of time. At the instructor’s discretion, the student can be granted 

an extension at no penalty. 

• Disability Access: If a student has specific request or accommodations, it is their responsibility 

to share with the instructor.

• Attendance Policy: Students are expected to attend each class. This course will follow the Year 

Up attendance policy as specified in the Student Contract. 

VII. Plagiarism: Plagiarism occurs when a student misrepresents the work of another as his or her own. 

There is nothing wrong with presenting someone else’s words and ideas in your own writing. The 

key to properly using others’ ideas in your work is acknowledgement and citation. To avoid 

plagiarism, you must give credit whenever you use another person’s ideas, opinions, or theory, 

including facts, statistics, graphs, and drawings. Any piece of information that is not common 

knowledge must be cited. If you are concerned about whether or not you are giving credit when it is 

due, please feel free to come talk to your instructors. We’ll be more than happy to help you. 

Plagiarism Policy at Year Up: the first instance of plagiarism is a 25-point infraction; the second is a 

35-point infraction; and the third is firing.

VIII.Learning Management System (Schoology): 

Schoology will be the Learning Management System used within your class to demonstrate your 

learning and understanding of course concepts. Below are the “best practices” of using Schoology to 

reach its potential in bolstering and supporting your learning.

• Use of professional profile picture and language

• Check Schoology at least twice a day (there is also a free app available)

• Keep track of your assignments and grades (coaches will also have access to grades)

• Be mindful of time when assignments are due as all assignments are time stamped when 

uploaded 
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• Follow assignment guidelines in terms of file name and format guidelines

• Check twice, upload once

Disclaimer: This syllabus is a working document and is subject to change at any time
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Appendix E: Year Up’s Post Program Outcome Targets

Source: Year Up National Program Staff (August 21, 2018)

How to Talk about Graduate Outcomes

At Year Up, we hold ourselves accountable to our mission through careful measurement, tracking, and 

reporting of our graduates’ employment and education outcomes after the program. Every cycle, our 

teams support graduates in launching their careers with job placements and/or continued post-secondary 

education. This document promotes a shared understanding of these graduate outcomes by describing 

goals, metrics, and key definitions, so we can communicate clearly and consistently with internal (“One 

Year Up”) and external audiences. Additionally, this document provides helpful answers to some 

frequently asked questions (FAQs) about graduate outcomes. 

Consult the Marketing Library for the latest collateral on how to talk about local outcomes statistics or 

Year Up “By the Numbers.”

2018 Graduate Outcomes Goals

4-month Graduate Outcomes goals, for all channels:

• 70% of graduates will be employed in full-time, Year Up-related professional jobs

• 85% of Year Up graduates will be employed (FT or PT) and/or enrolled in post-secondary education 

within four months of graduation

• 45% of graduates will secure intern-to-hire conversions

• Employed graduates will earn an average starting wage of $16 or above

In addition to the above org-wide goals, PTC sites have the following additional metric:

• At least 75% of PTC grads will re-enroll in post-secondary education (FT or PT) within 4 months of 

graduation

12-month Graduate Outcomes goals, starting with the July 2016 cohort, are:

• We will achieve an 70% response rate at the 1-year mark, defined as contacting a grad between 60 

days prior to their 1-year anniversary to 30 days after their 1-year anniversary

• 70% of graduates will be employed in full-time, YU-track-related professional jobs as of 12 months 

after graduation

• 85% of Year Up graduates will be employed (FT or PT) and/or enrolled in post-secondary education 

as of 12 months after graduation

• Employed graduates will earn an average starting wage of $16 or above as of 12 months after 

graduation

Note: Because July 2016 was the first cohort we officially tracked org-wide 12-month outcomes, these 

metrics should be considered “internal only” for now; our website and external marketing materials will 

continue to focus on 4-month outcomes. As we learn more about 1 year outcomes, we will also introduce 

additional metrics, such as college persistence/progress towards a degree, employment continuity, and 

total annual earnings. 
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Important Definitions

• Employment is defined as having started a job. Having accepted a job offer or signed paperwork will 

not count as a graduate outcome until the graduate begins working. 

• Full-time employment is defined as working at least 35 hours per week. Full-time jobs may be either 

permanent or contract.

• Permanent employment means a salaried employee of the company in question; Contract means the 

individual is employed via a staffing firm, temp agency, or other third party. 

• Year Up-related is defined as a professional job in one of the employment fields/tracks for which we 

train students (e.g., IT, FO, QA, PM, AML). Corporate Engagement, Employment Placement and 

Internship Services staff determine how to categorize each job when they enter it in Salesforce. 

Graduates don’t have to have studied or interned in the same employment field as their job, but the 

job should be one that leverages their YU skills & experience, and one that they couldn’t have gotten 

without YU. Year Up related jobs are also referred to as quality jobs. 

• Intern-to-hire conversion is any job at the same company where a student completed his or her 

internship. The job does not have to be in the same department or field that the student interned in, 

nor does it have to start immediately following the internship. 

• Post-secondary education is defined as enrollment in college or a YU-related training program that 

leads to an industry-recognized credential (e.g., A+, Network+, HDI). 

• 4 months after graduation is defined as the first Monday after 4 months from last day of internship. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

• What is a Graduate Outcome? 

A graduate outcome is when a Year Up graduate is employed (full-time or part-time) and/or enrolled in 

postsecondary education within 4 (and then 12) months after graduation. See definitions below for more 

information about what qualifies as a graduate outcome.

• Is there a “cap” on the % of grads that can be pursuing higher education?

As long as a site achieves the employment components of the Graduate Outcomes goal, there is no limit 

on the % of grads who may go back to school. For example, if 85% of graduates have been placed and 

70% of graduates are placed in full-time, YU-track-related jobs, then 15% of grads or 100% of grads 

could be pursuing post-secondary education and either one would count as success. In the PTC, our vision 

is for a majority of alumni to pursue full-time professional jobs and higher education simultaneously. 

• Why don’t part-time jobs count towards the 70% Full-time Year Up-related jobs goal? 

Our evaluation work (e.g., the EMC and PACE studies) and National alumni surveys have shown that 

securing a full-time, YU-related job shortly after graduation leads to significantly better long-term 

outcomes for alumni. Grads with full-time jobs earn more, are more likely to be employed several years 

later, report better social/emotional outcomes, and are more likely to stay connected to YU. While a parttime job can be a good outcome for some alumni, focusing our energy on placing at least 70% of grads in 

full-time roles best ensures long-term financial security for our graduates.

• Why do we have an internal goal of 45% internship conversions?

From past research and outcomes data monitoring, we know that the strongest possible employment 

outcomes (i.e., higher rates of employment at higher wages for longer periods of time) for Year Up grads 

are when their post-program jobs align well with their internship experiences and their L&D training. One 

of the best ways to align an internship with the post-program job is to see it convert at graduation. 
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Abt Associates Appendix E ▌pg. 19

Additionally, conversions meet a need for employers who often need sustained employment after the 

internship ends, and a trained intern often meets that need the best.

• Why do we have a 75% re-enrollment goal at our PTC sites?

The 75% re-enrollment goal at PTCs is an important part of the long-term career and education pathway 

planning for our young adults and a huge value proposition to our college partners. Educational partners 

work with Year Up because we can help with college re-enrollment. Colleges believe partnering with 

Year Up can help with their enrollment and graduation rates. Our past outcomes research also tells us that 

a combination of full-time YU-related work and part-time education is a winning pathway for our 

graduates. 

• If our research tells us full-time Year Up related jobs offer the best possible outcomes for our 

young adults, why do have the 85% any outcome goal? 

The 85% outcome goal has been with Year Up since the beginning. Many of our stakeholders are familiar 

with this goal and it is a unique identifier of Year Up. It also provides a simple, easy-to-understand goal 

that communicates both employment and education outcomes in a single number to all of our 

stakeholders. It is commonly used to tell the story of Year Up in our external communications and 

marketing materials.

• How should my site handle job placements at companies that provide goods, services or 

products that some may not be aligned with/agree with? For example, Alcohol, medical 

marijuana, slot machines, defense industry, etc.....?

If the company offers meaningful, substantive roles in any legitimate industry, at appropriate wage levels, 

Employment Placement, Corporate Engagement and site leadership will not discriminate against these 

opportunities. Still, there may be other reasons not to pursue the opportunity with any given company

(e.g., financial issues within the company, concern about the quality of the role, etc.). It would, of course, 

be the young adults’ independent choice if they wished to pursue opportunities within these industries.

• Why can’t I share 12-month goals and outcomes externally? 

While 12-month outcomes will be an exciting indicator of our ability to provide a path to long-term 

success for our graduates, we are not yet prepared to share data externally. In these early stages of data 

collection, we are learning how we can best set and track 12-month goals and outcomes. Please be 

mindful of this learning phase and refrain from sharing externally. Eventually, we hope to incorporate 12-

month outcomes into our external outcomes framework. Please stay tuned for further communication 

when we are prepared to share externally. 

• What about outcomes after 12mo?

We believe that if we hold ourselves accountable for each alum securing a quality first outcome right after 

graduation, most grads will continue to thrive in their professional careers and education over the long 

term. Starting with the July 2016 graduating class, we committed to measure graduate outcomes at 12 

months after graduation, in addition to 4 months after graduation, to increase our evidence of longer-term 

impact. 

For outcomes after 1-year, we use a combination of long-term alumni surveys and rigorous external 

evaluations to understand our graduates’ multi-year trajectories. Our first external evaluation (the EMC 

study) tracked graduates for 2 years after graduation; our long-term alumni surveys in 2011 and 2016 

reached out to alumni going all the way back to our very first graduating class. The PACE evaluation, 

which is currently underway, will follow a subset of 2014-2015 alumni for a minimum of 5 years. Contact 
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Abt Associates Appendix E ▌pg. 20

the Research & Evaluation team (Garrett Warfield and Jess Britt) for more information on these longerterm studies, or visit the Research & Evaluation web pages on www.yearup.org. 

• What were Year Up’s Graduate Outcomes goals in the past? 

As our organization has grown and our strategy has evolved, we have set different graduate outcomes 

goals over time. For historical reporting purposes, the table below shows what our graduate outcomes 

goals were each year. 

Cohorts Graduate Outcomes Goals

July 2016 and up Org-wide

70% employed in full-time, YU-track-related roles within 4mo

45% intern-to-hire conversion

85% employed and/or in school (FT or PT) within 4 months

Average starting wage >$16/hr

PTC

All of the above, plus 75% re-enrollment in school (FT or PT) within 4 months

12-month outcomes goals:

70% response rate of grads contacted 1 year after graduation

70% employed in full-time, YU-track-related roles at 12mo

85% employed and/or in school (FT or PT) at 12mo

75% of PTC grads still enrolled in higher ed at 12mo, and/or already completed a degree or certificate

July 2015 and up Org-wide

70% employed in full-time, YU-track-related roles within 4mo

45% intern-to-hire conversion

85% employed and/or in school (FT or PT) within 4 months

Average starting wage >$16/hr

PTC

All of the above, plus 75% re-enrollment in school (FT or PT) within 4 months

July 2014 – 

January 2015

Core

75% employed within 4 months

70% employed in full-time, YU-track-related roles within 4mo

45% intern-to-hire conversion

85% employed and/or in school full-time within 4 months; if 75% employment goal is not met, then FT 

school is “capped” at 10% of total

Average starting wage >$16/hr

PTC

65% employed within 4 months

45% intern-to-hire conversion

85% employed and/or in school full-time within 4 months; if 65% employment goal is not met, then FT 

school is “capped” at 20% of total

Average starting wage >$16/hr

January 2012 – 

January 2014

75% employed within 4 months

30% intern-to-hire conversion

85% employed and/or in school full-time within 4 months; if 75% employment goal is not met, then FT 

school is “capped” at 10% of total

Average starting wage >$15/hr

January 2010 – 

July 2011

75% employed within 4 months

30% intern-to-hire conversion

85% employed and/or in school full-time within 4 months

Average starting wage >$15/hr

July 2002 – July 

2009

85% employed within 4 months

30% intern-to-hire conversion

Average starting wage >$15/hr

40% re-enrolled in school within 12 months
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Abt Associates Appendix F ▌pg. 21

Appendix F: Program Staffing and Staff Tenure July 2018

Current Job Description

Tenure

– Years Report to

Site Director 2.44 Executive Director (Acting)

Director of Development 1.11 Executive Director (Acting)

Associate Director of Programs 4.64 Site Director

Associate Director of Admissions & College Enrollment 1.52 Site Director

Student Services Manager 1.46 Site Director

Student Services Manager 1.38 Site Director

Internship Service Coordinator 1.10 Site Director

Internship Services Manager 1.13 Site Director

External Relations Manager (Estimated Start Date) 0.58 Director of Development

Information Technology Instructor 2.17 Associate Director of Programs

Program Manager 0.90 Associate Director of Programs

Program Manager 2.96 Associate Director of Programs

Employment Placement Manager 1.92 Associate Director of Programs

Employment Placement Manager 0.75 Associate Director of Programs

Temp. PT Instructor 0.41 Associate Director of Programs

Admissions & College Enrollment Manager 2.74 Associate Director of Admissions & College Enrollment

Special Assistant 2.00 Site Director

Unpaid Intern/Fellow 0.83 Student Services Manager

Associate Director, Business Development 0.46 Director of Development

Special Projects Coordinator 2.96 Director of Development

Director of Corporate Engagement 0.67 Executive Director

Source: Year Up program administrative data.
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Appendix G: Organizational Chart for the Philadelphia Professional Training Corps (PTC)

Program, August 2018

Source: Personal communications with National Program Team staff members, August 2018.

 

*A dotted line denotes a staff member reporting to the Year Up Regional Director. 
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Abt Associates Appendix H ▌pg. 25

Appendix H: Participant Survey Questions (Supplements to the Preinternship Survey)

Question Number and Measure Scale

Course-Taking and Employment During L&D

1. Number of courses taken during L&D

2. Difficulty of courses 1 (very difficult) - 3 (not difficult at all)

3. Hours spent per week on homework or preparing for class

4. Number of courses completed 1 (not at all) - 3 (a great deal)

5. Hours per week worked for pay during L&D

6. Degree to which working adversely affected academics

Academic Challenges & Support

7. Frequency participants encountered the following challenges in their most 

difficult course

1 (never) - 3 (often)

Attending class regularly

Keeping up with assignments

Doing well on assignments/exams

Understanding lectures and readings

Understanding the course requirements

8. Frequency participants received timely feedback and support when 

challenges in their most difficult course occurred, from the following sources

1 (never) - 3 (often); excluding 4 (N/A)

College instructors

Year Up staff

Other students in the class

Tutors at the college

Tutors online

9. Frequency participant communicated with coach 1 (less than once a month) - 5 (daily)

Participant Assessment of Supports Received

10. Quality of feedback and support participant received for college course, from 

the following sources

1 (excellent) - 4 (poor); excluding 5 (N/A)

Course instructor

Other college staff

YU staff 

Other students in the class

Tutors at the college

Tutors online

11. Overall feeling of support from Year Up 1 (not at all supported) - 5 (completely 

supported)

12. Rating of program experiences relative to expectations 1 (did not meet expectations) - 5 (far 

exceeded expectations)

Technical skills training

Professional skills training

Business communication skills training

Overall Learning & Development experience

13. Feeling about preparation for internship 1 (not at all prepared) - 5 (completely 

prepared)

14. Likelihood of recommending Year Up to a friend, colleague, or family member 0 (not at all likely) - 10 (extremely likely)
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Abt Associates Appendix I ▌pg. 27

Appendix I: Bi-weekly Monitoring Guide

Mini-Experiment Monitoring Call Protocol

General 

1. General updates

i. Barometer check, successes and challenges, etc.

ii. Participant update

iii. Staff Update

2. Outstanding issues requiring resolution/follow-up on action-items from previous call

Academic Monitoring

1. Current monitoring strategies

i. Current/changes in monitoring strategies

ii. Experience/changes in experience with strategies

iii. Challenges to utilizing each strategy

iv. Approaches for overcoming these strategies

2. Contract/communication with instructors/TAs (only PTC-BMCC) 

i. Frequency and quality of interactions

ii. Collection of interim course performance indicators (e.g., grades, feedback)

iii. Challenges to communication

iv. Approaches to deal with them

v. Identification and tracking of major course milestones

3. Coaching

i. Utilization and effectiveness of Academic Coaching Resource Guide

ii. Monitoring of participant goal setting

iii. Discussion of academic milestones and use of feedback from instructors

iv. (e.g., dashboard)

v. Use of data on participants (e.g., background information, feedback collected

vi. from instructors)

vii. EPIC Plans: Trouble-shooting red-flags

Academic Supports

1. Need for & use of the following:

i. Course materials

ii. Schoology

iii. Tutoring

iv. Other college resources/services

v. Site specific resources:

PTC-P: Use of Wi-Fi hotspots and iPads for course readings

PTC-JAX: Access to textbook library

PTC-BMCC: Interaction with TA

Program participation

1. Any changes in program—programming, planned changes?

Staffing 

1. Staffing needs or changes for academic monitoring and participant support?

Other

1. Other questions/concerns the site has
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Abt Associates Appendix J ▌pg. 29

Appendix J: Coach Survey (Cycle 2 Coaches)

Key Topic Areas Question:

Met with Coachee in past 

2 weeks

Did you have any individual coaching sessions with {{Coachee}} in the past two 

weeks? (binary, 1= yes, 2=no)

Date of Last Coaching Session When was the last time you had an individual coaching session with {{Coachee}}?

Length of Coaching Session Thinking back to your most recent individual coaching session with {{Coachee}} 

about how long was the session? 

1 = Less than 5 minutes

2 = 5-10 minutes

3 = 0-15 minutes

4 = More than 15 minutes

Topics Discussed in Coaching YU Topic of the Week (1= true, 0 = false)

Time Spent on YU Topic of the Week (1=none, 2= small amount, 3=moderate, 4=quite a 

bit, 5=most of the time) 

Personal Issues (i.e., family, home, transportation, medical) (1= True, 0= False) 

Time Spent on Personal Issues (1=none, 2= small amount, 3=moderate, 4=quite a bit, 

5=most of the time) 

Social Issues (i.e., friends, peer-related issues) (1= true, 0= false) 

Time Spent on Social Issues (1= none, 2=small amount, 3=moderate, 4=quite a bit, 

5=most of the time) 

Academic Issues (1= true, 0 = false)

Time Spent on Academic Issues (1=none, 2= small amount, 3=moderate, 4=quite a bit, 

5=most of the time) 

Work-Related Issues (1= true, 0 = false)

Time Spent on Work-Related Issues (1=none, 2= small amount, 3=moderate, 4=quite a 

bit, 5=most of the time) 

Other (1= true, 0 = false)

Time Spent on Other (1=none, 2= small amount, 3=moderate, 4=quite a bit, 5=most of the 

time) 

Participant Issues Rate the extent to which the following are issues for {{Coachee}}... (continuous: 1= 

not at all; 5= major)

Personal Issues 

Social Issues 

Academic Issues 

Work-related Issues 

Other Issues 

Supports and Resources 

Provided

Thinking back to the most recent coaching session with {{Coachee}}, what types of 

supports and resources did you refer {{Coachee}} to? (1= true, 0 = false)

Student Services

Tutoring

Clothing Donations

Online Resources

External Program (if yes, please specify)

Other (if yes, please specify)

Coachee Responsiveness to 

Feedback

How responsive was {{Coachee}} to your feedback, support, and/or advice? (1= not 

at all responsive, 2=not very responsive, 3=somewhat responsive, 4=very responsive, 

5=extremely responsive)

Seeking Additional Support Did you seek additional support to help {{Coachee}}? 

(1= yes, 0=no)

Please describe in a few words what support you sought out.
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Abt Associates Appendix J ▌pg. 30

Key Topic Areas Question:

Sources of Support Please identify who you reached out to for support...

(1= yes, 0=no)

Program Manager

Course Instructor

Another Coach

Student Services at the College 

Tutor at the College

Academic Advisor at the College 

Other (if other, please specify) 
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Abt Associates Appendix K ▌pg. 31

Appendix K: Site Observation Protocol

Introduction to Individual/Group Being Observed: Thank you for allowing [me/us] visit (Insert Setting—

X). [I/we] are working with Year Up to find ways to make the program better for students now and in the 

future. Our interest is in learning about all aspects of the program, including things that work really well 

and those that could be improved. 

We are going to be visiting Year Up about once a week over the next year to learn about the different 

ways that instructors, coaches, and other program staff use their time and how students, instructors, and 

program staff engage with one another in Year Up. What we observe will vary over the year.

We will take notes on what we see and hear, but we will use the notes only to remind us of what we saw 

and heard. We will use information from our observations in conjunction with other information on the 

program to help us learn about what works well, what can be improved, and how improvement might be 

achieved. We will not share information that we gather during our observations in ways that would link it 

to individual students, instructors, or staff at Year Up or the college. 

If any of you are concerned about what we are going to do with this information, please see us any time 

during or after an observation, and we will address your concerns. 

Observer Date/

Time

Site Point(s) of 

Contact

Beginning 

Time:

Ending 

Time:

Before Observation—Conversation with Instructor/Coach/Program Staff

If possible, have a brief, information conversation with the instructor/coach/program staff prior to 

the observation inquiring about:

1. What is the focus of today’s activity?

2. What has been going on with students prior to this lesson, coaching session, or activity?

3. Have the students been struggling academically? If so, how? With any particular material?

4. What types of supports (if any) have been given to students to help with any academic struggles?

5. Have you been struggling in your role? Are there things others might do to help you out? If so, what 

are some examples?

During the Lesson/Session

Use the table on page 4 for making detailed lesson flow notes. You will use these notes to summarize the 

observation and complete the remainder of this form.
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Abt Associates Appendix K ▌pg. 32

After the Lesson/Session

As soon as possible after the lesson/session is finished, please review your notes and then respond to each 

of the following questions.

The Instructor/Coach & Instruction/Session:

1. Describe the role of the instructor/coach/program staff. (Focus/purpose/setting/etc.)

2. What was session leader doing during this interaction? (Roles/time allocation/props/etc.)

3. What types of supports did he/she use? (Be especially attentive to academic & engagement props)

4. How did this person get the student to discuss academic issues or challenges? (What types of 

questions did he/she ask? How did he/she elicit information from the student?)

The Students: 

1. Approximately how many students were present in this interaction? How were they arranged in the 

room?

2. Describe what the student(s) was/were doing. 

3. Describe the interaction between the students (or students) with the instructor/coach/program staff. 

4. *If there were multiple students, describe the interaction between students. 

5. *If academic support or monitoring took place, how did students respond to this? Describe their 

behavior with regards to this support and monitoring 
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Abt Associates Appendix K ▌pg. 33

Observation Codes for Flow Recording Sheet (Below):

Codes

Type of Interaction

CS Coaching Session

CL Class

IC Informal Conversation

SH Study Hall

MM Monday Meeting

FM Friday Meeting

MS Miscellaneous

Support Given

T Tutoring Advice/Referral

F Feedback from Instructor/Grades

CG Coaching Guide

AP Academic Planning

HS Hot-Spot (Wifi)

PC Peer Collaboration
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Abt Associates Appendix K ▌pg. 34

Observation Flow Recording Sheet

Take notes describing the activities of the professor and students occurring during the class period. 

Provide a time stamp in the “Time” column to correspond with the events (record a time stamp at least 

every 4 minutes). Indicate use of any instructional materials (by teacher or student)

Time

Type of 

Interaction

Support 

Given Description Notes
Final Evaluation Report of Year Up’s Professional Training Corps in Philadelphia

Appendices

Abt Associates Appendix L ▌pg. 35

Appendix L: Participant Focus Group Guide

Introduction [Tailor depending on familiarity with respondent(s)]

Hello, I’m [NAME] from [University of Pennsylvania, located in Philadelphia, PA; Abt Associates, Inc., a 

research organization with headquarters in Cambridge, MA]. I am part of a team of researchers, from Abt 

Associates and the University of Pennsylvania, working with Year Up to conduct an evaluation of Year 

Up’s Professional Training Corps program. Our research is supported by grants from the Institute on 

Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education and the Social Innovation Fund. 

As part of this study, we’re talking with participants, like you, to learn about their experiences in the Year 

Up program during the L&D phase, in order to learn what supports are helpful to participants, why they 

are helpful, and how Year Up can improve the supports they offer. More specifically, I (we) would like to 

talk to you about how the semester is going—learn about orientation, your classes, and generally how 

things are going for you.

Before beginning the interview, I (we) want to thank you for your time. Your participation in this 

interview is voluntary and deciding not to take part won’t affect your status in the PTC program or at 

Pierce. There is no right or wrong answers. We can stop the interview at any time, or skip any questions 

you do not wish to answer. The interview today should last approximately 45 to 60 minutes.

In addition, I want to let you know that, although, I (we) will take notes during these interviews; 

information is never repeated with the name of the respondent in any reports or in any discussions outside 

the research team. Our reports will describe the typical experiences of participants like you, but we will 

not identify you by name. When we write our reports and discuss our findings, information from all the 

people we speak with is compiled and presented so that no one person can be identified.

With your permission, I would like to audiotape our conversation so that I can listen at a later time for 

points I might miss during the conversation. If you prefer I do not audiotape our conversation, I will rely 

exclusively on my notes. In either case, if you decide some part of the interview should be off the record, 

please let me know. I do not have a recorder on now; is it okay with you for me to turn it on?

Do you have any questions before we begin? 

Your verbal decision to participate in the interview will be considered as your consent. Do I have your 

verbal permission to participate in this interview?

With your consent, we would like to be able to gather other information about you from PTC, such as 

your course credits, grades as well as other records related to the training—and it’s possible we’ll call or 

visit sometime in the future to talk with you again. We’ll keep your information confidential—it won’t be 

shared with anyone outside the research team or PTC program. Does that sound okay? 

Great, I have a set of questions about your background and experiences in this program. 

Background and Preparation for L&D (15 mins) 

1. Please tell me a little bit about your background and how you came to Year Up. 

2. How prepared did you feel for the coursework at (College)? What about your Year UP courses? Did 

you feel prepared to balance the demands of both College and Year Up courses?

a. *Optional: What aspects of orientation helped prepare you for Year UP? 
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3. Are there things you think you, Year Up or the College could have done to help you be better 

prepared for L&D?

4. What have been the biggest academic challenges for you? How have you managed or tried to manage 

these? What other challenges have you encountered (i.e., social, financial, etc.)?

5. What types of supports have been provided to you throughout your time here? In LC meetings? 

Coaching Sessions? From instructors? How were these supports provided

Coaching (15 mins) 

6. What was a typical coaching session like? What kinds of activities did you engage in? What types of 

questions did your coach ask you?

7. How much do you think your coach knows about your coursework at the college—e.g., what kinds of 

work you are getting, whether you are doing it, and what kinds of grades you are getting? 

a. If report not much: Does anyone at Year Up know about how you are doing in your courses? If 

you were struggling or not doing well, would they know? What would they be likely to do about 

it? 

8. What kinds of supports or resources did your coaches provide? Did they help you to access 

resources? 

a. If so, how? How often did your coach offer supports or resources? Were these supports and 

resources helpful? Which supports were especially helpful?

9. Did your coach provide any academic support and guidance? If so, what did they do? Was this 

helpful? Why or why not?

10. Did your coach use a coaching sheet during your sessions? If so, please describe how they used it. 

Did they use this in every session? Did they show you this sheet? 

*Optional: Did your coach use any other way to record your coaching sessions? Did they have you fill 

out any other forms or send emails to check in? If so, how frequently did you do this? 

11. In general, did you find the coaching sessions helpful? What could have been done to improve this? 

Supports (10 mins) 

12. How often (e.g., once a week, a couple times a week, every day, etc.) did you access the following 

resources:

a. Tutoring

i. How frequently? they used this. 

ii. If they indicate at least a moderate amount, ask the following.] What type of tutoring do you 

typically used? Where it is the tutoring offered? For what courses did you seek out tutoring?

Are you generally finding and using tutoring on your own or is someone else at Year Up 

guiding you to the tutoring? Does it seem to be helpful? [If not] Any sense of why not? 

b. Textbook library [for students at JAX only] 

c. Any other resources
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13. How useful have these resources been in helping you to complete your coursework? 

a. If you were in need of resources for academic support, were PTC staff able to help you get 

access? [If yes] How did they help? 

14. What YU strategies or services seem to you to have been critical to your success in L&D? What have 

been challenging? 

15. What other PTC resources might be helpful for succeeding in L&D? What about resources at the 

College?

a. *Optional Additional Question: If Year Up or the college were to add or modify student support 

services, what would be your recommendations for priority additions or modifications? Why?

Instructors (10 mins) 

16. How often do you interact with your college instructors? Who do you interact with? Did you speak 

with some instructors more than others? Why? 

How often did you receive feedback from instructors? Did this vary based on the course? 

17. Did it seem like the PTC staff and Peirce instructors were in different worlds, or did it feel like they 

were in touch about your progress and any challenges along the way?

Next Steps and Goals (5-10 mins) 

18. How many credits do you expect to have when you finish the PTC program (L&D and Internship 

Phase)? Are you planning to continue with college? If so, what program at the college will you be 

completing? Will you have the necessary prerequisites to enroll in the program, or will you need to 

take additional credits/classes?

19. What do you hope to be doing soon after finishing Year Up, with regard to school and work?

20. In the longer-term, what are your five-year career and life goals? What kind of work do you see 

yourself doing, and why?
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Abt Associates Appendix M ▌pg. 39

Appendix M: Staff Interview Guide 

[If interviewing staff we have not been working with] 

Hello, I’m [NAME] from [University of Pennsylvania, located in Philadelphia, PA; Abt Associates, Inc., a 

research organization with headquarters in Cambridge, MA]. I am part of a team of researchers, from 

Abt Associates and the University of Pennsylvania, working in partnership with Year Up to conduct an 

evaluation of Year Up’s Professional Training Corps (PTC) program. Our research is supported by grants 

from the Institute on Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education and the Social Innovation 

Fund. As part of this research effort, we completed a descriptive study over a year ago examining basic 

operations at the site with the goal of identifying promising areas for and suggestions for program 

improvement. In the past year, we have worked with your site leadership and Year Up National to 

identify two or three high potential strategies for addressing specific challenges and strengthening 

outcomes in the L&D phase. As part of the larger evaluation, we are studying the implementation and 

effects of these program improvement strategies. 

The purpose of today’s conversation is to gather more in-depth feedback about your experiences 

implementing the program improvement strategies and your sense of how the strategies are working. 

We’ll spend most of the time talking about your experiences and observations about the L&D phase of 

the program and how things are going for students this semester, and what you, other year up staff, and 

your college partners are doing to support students. 

[If interviewing staff we have been working with and who is familiar with the evaluation] 

It is really good to have this opportunity to follow up on how things are progressing this cycle. What we 

would like to do today is do a check in on how the semester is progressing—learn about orientation, how 

things are working between the College and your staff, and generally how things are going for students in 

L&D. 

[For everybody; interviewer must read] 

Before beginning the interview, I (we) want to thank you for your time and remind you that your 

participation in this interview is voluntary. I (we) know that you are busy and will try to be as brief as 

possible. There is no right or wrong answers. We are interested in learning about your ideas, experiences, 

and perspectives about the program improvement efforts at [Philadelphia; NYC-BMCC; Jacksonville]. 

The interview today should last from 45 to 60 minutes. 

In addition, I want to let you know that, although, I (we) will take notes during these interviews; 

information is never repeated with the name of the respondent in any reports or in any discussions outside 

the research team. We often provide illustrations of typical experiences but are careful not to identify 

anyone by name. When we write our reports and discuss our findings, information from all the people we 

speak with is compiled and presented so that no one person can be identified. 

With your permission, I would like to audiotape our conversation so that I can listen at a later time for 

points I might miss during the conversation. If you prefer I do not audiotape our conversation, I will rely 

exclusively on my notes. In either case, if you decide some part of the interview should be off the record, 

please let me know. I do not have a recorder on now; is it okay with you for me to turn it on?

Do you have any questions before we begin? 

Your verbal decision to participate in the interview will be considered as your consent. Do I have your 

verbal permission to participate in this interview?
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Abt Associates Appendix M ▌pg. 40

Great, I’d like to begin by learning just a bit about you and your role. 

Background Information

[If not someone we have interviewed before] I’d like to start by having you tell us a little bit about your 

background.

1. When and how did you come to work at PTC? What prior experience did you have with Year 

Up or similar programs?

2. What is your role here at PTC? What are your main responsibilities? What do things look like 

for you in a typical day or week?

Cross-cutting Issues-CUTTING

Overall Program—L&D Phase

Goals for L&D

1. During this cycle, what are the main goals for participants during the L&D? 

a. (Veteran) Are these similar or different from prior cycles? [If different] Can you talk a bit about 

the differences? 

2. So far, what things are going well with this current cohort? 

a. (Veteran) Would you describe this as better, about the same, or worse than the last cycle?

3. In this past cycle, What YU strategies or services seem to you to have been critical to students’ 

success in L&D? What have been challenging?

General Assessment of L&D This Cycle

Participants’ Readiness for L&D

1. In your work with students in L&D this cycle, how would you judge their readiness for college 

coursework? What about their readiness for other aspects of Year UP? 

2. (Optional) What are some of the strengths of this group of students? 

3. Are there any gaps in student’s preparation for Year Up? If so, what is the biggest gap in 

preparation you see? Any other big gaps?

General Assessment of Program Support & Services During L&D

1. What resources do you have to support students—particularly, students who you see as coming 

in unprepared? 

a. [Veteran Staff] How do these resources compare with what you had for students in previous 

L&D cycles? 

i. [If Changes] How have the changes affected what you and/or others at YU are able to do to 

help students succeed that have been put in place this cycle, especially with regards to 

academic outcomes? 
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Abt Associates Appendix M ▌pg. 41

2. What additional supports or services were added in your site this year? How much have these 

resources been accessed by students? How helpful do you find them for students, especially in 

terms of their academic success? 

3. If Year Up were able to add resources to the program to help students during L&D, what 

would be your top recommendations? 

a. Why do you pick these things? Do you think your colleagues would agree with this or are they 

likely to have other priorities? If so, can you give some examples?

General Assessment of College Services & Support During L&D

1. Are there things that have been problematic in terms of the College’s role in L&D for this 

cohort? [If so] Can you talk a bit about those things? What might be helpful in addressing 

[that/those things]?

2. (Optional) Are there things that you have had to adjust in how Year Up operates in this site? Are 

these because of things that are related to the College? Employers you work with? What else is going 

on in the City?

Orientation/Staff Training

I’d like to switch gears a bit and talk about the planning for this cohort of students. I know that there lots 

of discussions here about how you could improve student success rates in the L&D Phase. I’d like to get a 

sense of how this played out at the staff level. 

1. (PM) Prior to Orientation, what kinds of preparation activities were there (for example, staff 

meetings and/or trainings)? What was similar and what was different from prior cycles? 

2. (PM/Coaches) When orientation arrived, did you feel prepared for the incoming class (e.g., had 

sufficient info on their backgrounds, the program set up, etc.)? [If a veteran] Can you compare how 

prepared you felt this cycle compared to previous ones? [If more or less prepared] Can you elaborate 

a bit? 

Learning & Development Experience 

1. How would you describe the PTC philosophy about and general approach to the teaching, 

advising, and supporting students during L&D? [For veterans] How does this compare with the 

philosophy last cycle? 

[If involved in teaching or advising]. 

2. **Can you talk a bit about the teaching/coaching you have do with your students? [For 

veterans] How does this compare with your approach last cycle? 

Academic Monitoring

Tracking and Responding to Triggers [For staff with coachees] 

General Approach

1. Please describe your approach to monitoring how your coachees were doing in their courses. 

2. What are the points of direct contact with your coachees? How often and what context do you 

connect with them directly? 
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3. How variable is the contact across your coaches? [If variable] What accounts for the 

variability? 

Information Flows

1. Where else do you learn about how your coachees are doing? Do you get to see their college 

record (for example, through viewing the schools LMS)? 

a. Would you likely know if they were not attending? How would you know? Turning in 

homework? 

b. Doing poorly on homework or tests? What about if they were scheduled for a test? How would 

you know these things? 

c. [For the things they don’t know about] Is there a way you could learn this? What would that be?

What would it take to get access? 

2. How would you describe the degree to which you tend to follow a pre-planned approach to 

advising/counseling on particular topics versus responding in real-time to student needs? Can 

you give examples?

3. (ALT) Were there some academic challenges that you were able to address ahead of time, due 

to the use of the protocol or pre-planned approaches? 

Individual Coachee Performance

1. (Coaches/PMs) How many coachees do you have in the cohort currently in L&D? Of these 

coachees, how many do think are succeeding? How many are struggling? (see below for 

questions about individual coachee) 

Coaching Sessions

1. Can you talk a bit about your general approach to dealing with students when you learn they 

are struggling academically? 

2. What supports and resources do you have to draw on? How easy is it to get them for students in 

a timely manner? [If not drawing on these supports] What are the challenges? 

a. What supports have your students needed that you were not able to provide? How common is this 

need? What was the main obstacle to getting the support? 

3. Were certain student issues flagged to you in advance of the cycle? 

[If yes] How did having that information in advance affect what you did for those students? 

[If not at all] Can you talk about why not? 

4. (ALT) How do you use the Academic Coaching Resource Guide? How helpful has it been? Can you 

elaborate on the reasons? 

5. Which resources were particularly useful for monitoring students? Which were not helpful?

Communication with Instructors/TA’s 

1. How often do you interact with college staff? 

a. [For PM or other staff with direct communication with College Staff] Can you talk about the kind 

and extent of interaction you have with college instructors? 
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b. Who do you interact with? Who typically initiates these exchanges? 

c. [If advising] Do you get information about individual students? Curriculum schedules? Other 

kinds of things? 

d. Did you have any direct contact with the college instructors about particular students? 

What medium did you usually use? What are examples of the reasons for the contacts? How 

frequent were they? How useful were they? 

2. (PM) Have you tried to gather academic milestone data? Information on courses? Other 

things? What has been your success? 

a. Did you try to gather data on students from instructors? Feedback? How successful were you? If 

so, where did you track this information? [If not successful] What seemed to be the roadblocks to 

getting the information?

3. (PM/AC) Has the nature and extent of your interactions changed over time—for example, between 

last cycle and this? [If yes] How? What about over this cycle? [If yes] How? What led to the change? 

4. What challenges did you encounter in getting information you wanted to help you do your job? 

Academic Supports

1. To what extent do students have access to the necessary course materials? 

a. How many [students/of your coachees] faced challenges accessing course materials this cycle? [If 

some did] Were you able to help students get access? [If yes] What did you do to help? 

2. Do you use schoology? [If yes] How and how often? [If no] Why not? 

3. To what extent do [students/your coachees] take advantage of tutoring? 

a. [If use tutoring a moderate amount or more] What is the nature of the tutoring typically used?

Where is it? Courses most often used for? Are they generally finding and using it on their own or 

are you or someone else at Year Up guiding them to the tutoring? Does it seem to be helpful? [If 

not] Any sense of why not? 

4. What is your overall experience with the tutoring resources available for students? 

a. Is there tutoring available in the subjects students need help with? Are the tutors knowledgeable?

Is the tutoring available at times in locations that “work” for students? 

5. If Year Up or the college were to add or modify student support services, what would be your 

recommendations for priority additions or modifications? Why?

Persistence

1. Have any [students/of your coachees] fired themselves or left the program thus far this semester?

How many and why? 

2. In hind sight, are there things that Year Up could/should have done to help avoid this/these early 

termination(s)? 
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Abt Associates Appendix M ▌pg. 44

3. What kinds of things might Year Up alter with its approaches to working with students during L&D 

that could lead to better outcomes? Do you have strategies of your own that you try to implement to 

help these under-prepared students? [If yes] What are some examples? 

4. In your experiences working with the current group of students in L&D, what things have gone really 

well? What things have not gone so well? What things might you change in your practice going 

forward as a result of your experiences thus far? Can you give me some examples? 

A: Student A: On Track for Success 

First, I’d like to talk briefly about one of your coachees who is solidly on track. Thinking about this 

coachee ...

1. Has [A] had any difficulties in the program? [If yes] Like what? Did you know about these before 

the academic issues emerged? How did you learn about them?

2. Has [A] had any contract infractions? [If yes] Like what?

3. Has [A[ had any academic challenges that you are aware of? [If yes] Can you give me some 

examples? 

How much contact do you have with [A]? 

B: Student B: Struggling Student 

Next, I’d like to talk about one of your coachees who has had some difficulty. Thinking about this 

coachee... 

1. Can you tell me a bit about the problems [B] has had? What are your thoughts about factors that 

may be contributing to this? Did you know about these beforehand? How did you learn about 

[it/them]?

2. Has [B] had major contract infractions or does [B] have low points overall? 

3. How is [B] doing in his/her courses? Which ones are problematic? 

4. What are examples of the kinds of things you have been able to do to help [B]? What kinds of 

things would like to have been able to do, but couldn’t? 

5. When did you first become aware that [B] was having difficulty? 

6. Who else among the Year Up staff has been working to help [B]? Can you talk about this a bit? 

7. In general, how much and what kinds of special guidance and support have you found that your 

students needed? 
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Abt Associates Appendix N ▌pg. 45

Appendix N: Tips for Engaging with Instructors (from Academic 

Coaching Binder) 

Potential questions to ask your coachee when beginning the conversation about instructor engagement. 

• How are your relationships with instructors? (specify in notes)

• Have you had any recent challenges with instructors?

‒ If yes, what are they? How have you dealt with them?

• Does your instructor have office hours? Have you gone to your instructors’ office hours? 

• Have you asked for extra help from your instructors? 

‒ If yes, what advice or help have they provided? Have you acted on this?

‒ If not, what has prevented you from reaching out? (Probe w/ questions below) 

Issues Preventing Students from 

Engaging w/ Instructors Suggestions

Do they appear too busy? • Send an email to set up a time to meet 

• Send specific questions via email

Are they intimidating? • Approach them with another YU student

• Send an email before class and ask if there might be a good time to meet 

afterwards. 

• After class, ask what is their desired mode of communication, so you can reach out 

if you have questions. 

Are you unaware of how to start this 

kind of conversation? 

• Let’s brainstorm some questions to ask (see samples below)

• Come prepared with a specific assignment that you have questions about

Do you have their contact 

information?

• Make sure you keep track of each instructor’s email address, and phone number if 

they give this out

• Keep this information in your planner or in a google spreadsheet

Advice for Engaging with an Instructor

• Come prepared with specific questions. Write these down in advance. 

• Bring the assignment that you have specific questions about & highlight areas that you need help/ 

clarification. 

• Send email to set up a meeting or notify instructor you would like to connect during office hours.

• When meeting with instructor, begin by sharing the areas you would like help with, reference their 

feedback.

Potential Question Prompts: 

• I was reviewing your feedback on (x assignment) and was unclear what you meant by (y) could you 

explain this a bit more? What can I do to improve on this? 

• I was reviewing your feedback on (x assignment) and was hoping we could discuss what steps I can 

take or what strategies I can use to improve on this? 

• We haven’t gotten much feedback on (x) and I was wondering if I could share a paragraph with you 

to see if I am on the right track?

• Is there a good time that we might be able to meet to discuss (x)? Or is it best if I send my questions 

via email? 

• Are there good resources that I should look into to get extra help with______?
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Abt Associates Appendix O ▌pg. 47

Appendix O: Troubleshooting Academic Challenges (from Academic 

Coaching Binder)

Challenge #1: Student difficulty with instructor...

(Refer to Tips for Engaging with Instructors Handout in Coaching Binder) 

Feels the instructor is not approachable or too busy.

□ Email instructor a day or two before class to set up a time to meet (offer to meet before or after class, 

or suggest they provide a time that is convenient for them). 

□ Email or notify the instructor after class that you would like to attend their office hours. 

□ Approach the instructor with another YU student.

□ Speak with Pierce Academic Advisor. 

Difficulty understanding his/her feedback.

□ Review feedback with a peer, study hall supervisor, or tutor. 

□ Email instructor, asking to meet at a time that is convenient to review the feedback. Come prepared 

with specific questions and highlight the areas in need of clarification. 

□ Be sure to ask instructor about the key area to focus on in order to improve.

Not receiving enough feedback. 

□ When meeting with your instructor, ask if they might provide feedback on something small (i.e., 

introductory paragraph, excel problem, etc.) 

□ Speak with Pierce Academic Advisor. 

Challenges with his/her teaching style. 

□ Coach brainstorms strategies for troubleshooting based on specific instructor issue. 

□ Speak with Pierce Academic Advisor. 

Challenge #2: Student has difficulty with time management...

Feeling overwhelmed with workload, struggling to balance demands of work, school, & personal

□ Use scheduler in coachee binder to set aside a specific amount of time to work each day.

□ Coach helps student to map out a weekly work plan.

□ Select a time each week to engage in a group study session. 

□ Create a list of key priorities that need to be completed (deprioritizing assignments or work that is not 

time sensitive)

□ Refer to organizational assessment and exit ticket interactive

□ Review time management orientation slide deck and encourage coachee to write out day or week plan 

in hour or half hour blocks

‒ Block out time to complete coursework each day 

‒ Schedule meeting w/ instructor, peer, or tutor

‒ Select a time to do a group study or work session

□ Work with coachee to write their own “checklist for success” (example and template here)

Trouble focusing or difficulty managing distraction when trying to work.

□ Identify key distractors and brainstorms ways to minimize these (i.e., putting cell phone on silent 

when working, closing social media on computer)

□ Find or create an effective study space (i.e., room at home, library, computer lab, coffee shop)

□ Set aside times each week to spend in the designated study space
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Abt Associates Appendix O ▌pg. 48

Limited computer/internet access. 

□ Check out tablets

□ Find time each day to access computer lab

□ Be sure to focus on computer-related assignments during the school week (leaving reading and 

writing for weekend whenever possible, printing any assignments for the weekend) 

Challenge #3: Student is struggling to master certain skills

(Refer to resource and contact sheet in Coaching Binder)

Writing, excel, math...

□ Student schedules a meeting with tutoring service and coach follows-up during next coaching session 

or later in the week

□ Suggest student identifies a peer or multiple classmates to work with on a difficult assignment or 

study for an exam (create a study outline of the key topic areas to review as a group) 

□ Begin an online tutoring session (SmartThinking) and develop a plan for using this

Study Skills 

□ Identify a study strategy to try this week (Review study skill ideas for each learning style) 

□ Work with tutor to identify a new study strategy or revise a current strategy

□ Spend 15-20 minutes working on key focus area identified by instructor and return to instructor with 

any questions and/or ask for feedback (in a personal meeting or during office hours) 

□ Rather robust collection of resources from a nonprofit, similar to College Board: 

https://www.collegeatlas.org/top-study-skills-college-student.html

□ Study and Success Strategies—Berkeley Student Learning Center: http://slc.berkeley.edu/study-andsuccess-strategies 

Other Challenges? Ideas for solutions?

Brainstorm ideas here...
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Abt Associates Appendix P ▌pg. 49

Appendix P: Warm-Up Questions Suggestions (from Academic 

Coaching Binder)

• What has been the highlight and lowlight of your week—personally, professionally and 

academically?

• What are you most looking forward to and most anxious about looking ahead to next week and the 

next year—personally, professionally and academically?

• What is something that is going well and something you’re concerned about—personally, 

professionally, and academically

• What was the pit and the peak of your week—personally, professionally, and academically

• What was the most memorable moment of the past week at Year Up? In your college classes? 

Personally?

• What word would you use to describe the past week of your life—at Year Up, in your college classes, 

and outside of here?

• If you could give your classroom presence a grade this week, what would it be and why?

• What is something you’ve never done in class but would like to try?

• What’s a quality you admire in one of your classmates and why do you admire it?

• What do you do when you are bored in class? How do you keep yourself motivated?

• What are you most proud of in your college classes at this point in the semester?

• Who is your favorite and least favorite college instructor and why? What about their style works or 

doesn’t work for you?

• What happens when you face a challenge or a setback with an assignment or your coursework? What 

is something you can do to remain committed and motivated?

• Have you ever had a moment when you felt really proud of something you did in a class? An 

accomplishment? What did you do to bring about that success?

• Do you ever get distracted or feel like you can’t focus when doing your coursework? If so, what are 

some the common distractors? Are there some things you can do to minimize these distractions?

• What is one thing that you have learned that you hope to pass on to somebody in the future? What is 

one thing that you want passed on to you? Explain.

Feel free to brainstorm more of your own below:
Final Evaluation Report of Year Up’s Professional Training Corps in Philadelphia

Appendices

Abt Associates Appendix P ▌pg. 50

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Final Evaluation Report of Year Up’s Professional Training Corps in Philadelphia

Appendices

Abt Associates Appendix Q ▌pg. 51

Appendix Q: Weekly Academic Notes Sheet Used for Coaching Participants in the Alternative 

Strategies Group