Community colleges nationwide have adopted the Guided Pathways—a structured approach that helps students explore courses aligned with their academic and career goals.
Central Oregon Community College is developing its own version of the Guided Pathways program, set to launch in the fall of 2026. Through this initiative the college aims to provide students with clearer guidance in academic planning and career preparation, helping them navigate the process of choosing a field of study.
This model serves as a guide to help students plan their academic journey while staying connected throughout their time in college. It is built around eight Educational Pathways, which together include dozens of programs.
These eight pathways are:
- Business, Hospitality and Culinary
- Public and Emergency Services
- Health Sciences
- Science, Technology, Engineering and Math
- Humanities, Fine Arts and Communications
- Social Science, Behavioral Science, and Education
- Natural Resources
- Transportation, Industrial Trades and Apprenticeships.
Each pathway brings students with similar goals and interests into a shared community, providing the support and direction needed to help them succeed.
Annemarie Hamlin, vice president of Academic Affairs at COCC and chair of the Guided Pathways model said:
“The idea is to set up some very clear pathways so that students know exactly what steps to take to get to the ultimate goal they have. This goal may be a job, it might be to transfer, it might be getting a GED, or could just be taking classes for fun.”
The purpose of this concept is to provide students with pillars of support that will not only help keep them on track, but encourage them to follow what they are passionate about and connect with those of similar interests.
Starting next fall, after picking a pathway, “Trailhead” courses will introduce students into their field. This ranges from career opportunities, developing study skills, and looking at what it’s like to learn in that field.
Tyler Hayes, a key figure in the development of the Guided Pathways and dean of Enrollment Management at COCC, stated, “if we can get students on it to identify that path earlier and take those courses that align with that plan, the less the student is having to change.”
For students this can mean saving time, money and stress from taking unnecessary classes. Next fall every student will have an advising team that will consist of a faculty member and a professional advisor from CAP services.
“Anytime a student is feeling uncertain about the right pathway for them, or if they want to switch to another pathway, all they do is talk with their advisor,” said Hamlin. “It’s easy to switch from one pathway to another.”
Creating this team of support helps build community for every student at COCC. It creates opportunities to connect with peers and most importantly, their instructors.
“But the connection piece too, and that sense of belonging, the sense of place, is really important for student success,” said Alicia Moore, vice chair of Guided Pathways and vice president of Student Affairs at COCC.
Though the student body is not entirely aware of the implementation of the Guided Pathways into academic life, aspects of it were shared months ago, such as sample plans under certain programs.
It’s planned for this initiative to be introduced in the updated Bobcat Orientation; this will mainly focus on new applicants, as they work on how to include current students without making them have to go through these steps again.
For incoming students, instead of having to sift through 100 different programs, it will now be required to choose one of the eight pathways, all of them including exploratory options for those still deciding on a specific major.
The Guided Pathways program has continued to evolve alongside other careers and programs. Now in its implementation phase, it remains a work in progress.
“From the time of the launch, there’s still about five years where you’re evolving and refining the program,” Hamlin said. “It’s also the nature of what we do in higher education. We talk about continuous improvement.”
Editors note: An earlier version of this story had a guided pathway item stated with: Hospitality, and Service it has been corrected as Hospitality and Culinary.
