# Improving Career and Economic Outcomes in Texas March 12, 2025 - [ Blog ](/news-categories/blog) *This Q&A is part of an SDP Blog series profiling members of the SDP Fellowship Cohort 15. All posts from this series may be found* [*here*](https://prod-sdp.drupalsites.harvard.edu/tags/cohort-15-spotlight)*.* ![Navi](/sites/g/files/omnuum4446/files/2025-03/Picture1.jpg) **Q+A with Navi Dhaliwal & David Mahan at the Research Institute at Dallas College, a Cohort 15 SDP Fellowship Partner Agency** Navi Dhaliwal is a Cohort 15 (2023-2025) SDP Fellow and the Director, Economic Research and Data Strategy at the [Research Institute at Dallas College](https://www.dallascollege.edu/about/research-institute/pages/default.aspx). The Research Institute produces research findings and analytical tools to inform student-centered decision-making, both at Dallas College and at institutions across the region, state, and nation. We recently caught up with Navi and his supervisor, David Mahan, the Founding Executive Director of the Research Institute at Dallas College, to learn more about their exciting and impactful work. **Navi, can you tell us more about your role at the Research Institute?** Navi: I am a member of the Research Institute at Dallas College, a new higher education research team embedded within one of the nation’s largest community colleges. Our team uses longitudinal data which spans from K-12 to the workforce to study student pathways to and through higher education within our region, state, and nationwide. My role is to gather the data and develop the infrastructure for us to systematically gauge student employment, earnings, and economic mobility outcomes. **What excites you most about your job?** Navi: Dallas College serves a diverse population of more than 100,000 learners per year, ranging from first generation, dual enrolled high schoolers to working parents seeking to make a career change. No matter their background, Dallas College students are invested in the belief that higher education offers a pathway to a better life, economic opportunity, and upward mobility. What excites me most about my job is using data to ensure that we deliver on this promise of value to students. I’m motivated to make sure that enrolling with us, and in college more broadly, pays off and is worth the costs. **Tell us more about your capstone project.** Navi: At Dallas College, we care deeply about post-completion outcomes, but we haven’t always had the data needed to critically examine whether all students we serve earn a living wage after graduation and realize a positive return on investment. My project will coalesce survey and administrative data to assess whether, cohort by cohort, we are steadily improving the career outcomes of our students—not just on an ad hoc basis—but as part of an economic outcomes report we return to each year. **What impact do you hope to see as a result of the capstone project when it is completed?** Navi: I hope my project will inform Dallas College’s approach to career and transfer advising, program review, goal setting, and strategic planning. Our charge is to help students advance along their educational and career journeys, but we currently lack data around whether we’re succeeding and how we can improve in this effort. I think we have an opportunity to be a leader in the community college space when it comes to comprehensive outcomes assessment, and ultimately to increase the share of our students who graduate with a credential of value. David: We hope to make an important contribution to leaders in the higher education community, who have yet to standardize best practices in terms of student outcomes assessment. Researchers have made good progress, but the work is often less than comprehensive and struggles to be implemented and scaled as a cyclical, ongoing process. Compiling multiple data sources while addressing the nuances and limitations of each source is certainly not easy, yet critical to assessing our students. Can we answer the simple question: are our students prepared to continue their education or enter the job market immediately after completion of their program of study? Most institutions cannot holistically answer this question. **What has been the most meaningful experience from your participation in the SDP Fellowship so far?** Navi: The SDP Fellowship has been full of thought-provoking workshops and professional development sessions which encouraged our cohort to reflect on salient issues that affect education as a whole. But for me, the most impactful moments have been the quiet conversations with peers, SDP team members, and one-on-one mentorship. I’ve made genuine connections with educators who are humble, authentic, and purpose-driven, and I think this personal and professional network will shape and support my work for years to come. **How has the SDP Fellowship strengthened the analytic capacity of your agency?** David: As a new and relatively small team, the Research Institute thrives only through the collaboration of other thought leaders and researchers, both at Dallas College and in the regional/national education community. The SDP Fellowship has introduced us to many experts who have been generous with their time and thus directly enhanced our work. It is often said that “we stand on the shoulders of giants.” Indeed, the SDP Fellowship program is structured so we can learn from others, build on their work, and seek innovation together. I could not be happier with the SDP Fellowship experience for Navi, and all he has learned from it, making contributions to the Research Institute and Dallas College. **Where else can people learn about your work?** Navi: Some of our work was recently featured in the [Hechinger Report](https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__hechingerreport.org_opinion-2Dcollege-2Dis-2Dworth-2Dit-2Dfor-2Dmost-2Dstudents-2Dbut-2Dits-2Dbenefits-2Dare-2Dnot-2Dequitable_&d=DwMFAg&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=c1cqF-CHF4Kl_qtG1NjsusssGPWuKYI7IQW1-3IyRVI&m=JB0tO16lHzt79T1pCuyJ0GsA_Eawo_XNEbyZYBKlqpdQp8FmLgtsaA9fbYnm5KFF&s=a5jusbg-PZij0sTHNCL5k38DYRu1tzLFD4iJGx28lco&e=) and the [Annenberg Institute’s EdWorkingPapers](https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__edworkingpapers.com_ai25-2D1137&d=DwMFAg&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=c1cqF-CHF4Kl_qtG1NjsusssGPWuKYI7IQW1-3IyRVI&m=JB0tO16lHzt79T1pCuyJ0GsA_Eawo_XNEbyZYBKlqpdQp8FmLgtsaA9fbYnm5KFF&s=e3H-FFFFRps1B_YHW7jL8nv1YtZaP8tDK2m9YbldrA4&e=) series. 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