UMass Donahue Institute

“Case managers address the whole person who steps on a campus,” said Carolyn Frantz, a case manager with the STEM Starter Academy (SSA) at MassBay Community College in Wellesley. Carolyn is one of many similar staff across the Massachusetts community college system who support SSA students through case management. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.

The Massachusetts Department of Higher Education (DHE) launched SSA at Massachusetts’ 15 community colleges in January 2014. Since then, DHE has partnered with the Donahue Institute to provide evaluation and technical assistance to support the initiative’s implementation and administration.

In the early 2010s, the demographic makeup of Massachusetts’ STEM workforce did not reflect the diversity of the broader population. Inspired by a similar program in Florida, then-Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo proposed SSA in 2013 to expand access to STEM education and careers for underserved and underrepresented students. 

From the beginning, the Donahue Institute’s evaluation efforts have focused on providing timely formative and summative feedback to DHE and participating colleges. This feedback has informed continuous efforts to support the recruitment, readiness, retention, and completion of SSA participants—at the program, campus, and system levels.

Over time, case management emerged as a key strategy for SSA. The institute’s analysis revealed that most SSA participants were only receiving SSA services for a single semester. DHE sought to offer students more consistent support, if needed, to improve outcomes. Supported by the institute’s suggestions of best and promising practices, case management was identified as a promising approach to meet this need. 

“One of the signature services made available to SSA participants at each community college is case management,” said Jeremiah Johnson, lead evaluator and Senior Research Manager for the institute’s Applied Research & Program Evaluation group.

“A cornerstone of the STEM Starter Academy is innovation since the needs of the STEM workforce change over the years with the rapidly developing science and tech sectors,” said Alison Little, Assistant Commissioner for P-16 Alignment & Outreach at DHE. “This innovation mindset also allows each community college campus to customize their academies and case management to the needs of their students.”

SSA reflects the Donahue Institute’s broader team-based approach to working with clients. “Our team’s operational philosophy reflects an understanding of an evaluator’s role as an objective partner positioned to support program success through timely feedback that informs program implementation and outcomes,” said Jennifer Gordon, Director of the institute’s Applied Research & Program Evaluation group. 

Carolyn Frantz describes case management as the “throughline” that connects a student’s journey from entry to exit. She meets with students twice per semester—even if they have dropped out—to encourage re-engagement with SSA or re-enrollment in college. 

SSA case managers each typically support about 50 students. Case management meetings and communications help build a personal relationship, clarify students’ goals, ensure they stay on track, and connect them to resources like academic advising, tutoring, and the campus food bank. Case managers often provide an in-person or “warm” handoff to these services.

“We didn’t want to provide academic advising; that was already being done,” said Allison Little. “We intentionally have small caseloads. Not everyone needed case management.”

“Our analyses do suggest students who receive case management services are more likely to have positive outcomes than their similar, non-SSA peers,” said Dr. Johnson. SSA case management improved positive outcomes one, two, and three years after entry. Compared with their peers, SSA case-managed students earned STEM degrees and certificates at higher rates.

Learn more about the program evaluation and applied research services provided by the institute.

August 05, 2025