Evaluating the Impact of Braven on Post-College Outcomes
Across the country, colleges and universities are under growing pressure to demonstrate that an undergraduate degree leads to meaningful economic opportunity. At the same time, too many college students, especially those from first generation or low income backgrounds, continue to face uneven access to the networks, experiences, and guidance that translate education into a strong first opportunity (quality job or graduate school enrollment).
As the field moves beyond asking whether students get jobs to whether those jobs create real economic opportunity, this evaluation provides critical evidence to help answer one of higher education’s most urgent questions: how do we ensure college leads to lasting mobility?
– Neha Nanda, Project Director
Braven has created the Braven Experience to close this gap by partnering with colleges and universities to support their undergraduates in building career-readiness skills, networks, confidence, and experience through coursework, coaching, mentoring, and employer-engaged learning opportunities. In collaboration with Braven and their partners, AIR is evaluating the program across three school sites to understand how it is implemented and how, in collaboration with their school partners, it supports students’ transitions from college into the workforce.
AIR’s Evaluation of the Program
AIR’s multi-site evaluation is designed to rigorously test whether—and how—the Braven model delivers on its promise of helping students secure a quality first opportunity within six months of graduation. The evaluation spans three distinct institutional partnerships at Spelman College, Rutgers University–Newark, and the University of North Texas, allowing the research to generate both site-specific insights and broader lessons for the field.
AIR will coordinate impact and implementation studies:
- Impact studies examine whether participating in the Braven Experience leads to better educational and employment outcomes for students.
- Implementation studies document how the Braven Experience is delivered, including the practices and contextual factors that shape program implementation.
About Braven
Braven works with higher education institutions and employers to address these challenges through the Braven Experience, a two-part career-readiness program that involves a semester-long, credit-bearing course and continued support through six months after graduation. The program includes coaching and mentoring and provides opportunities to build professional networks, practice job-search skills, and participate in employer-engaged activities.
