Bachelor’s Degree Dreams of Community College Students Get Stymied by Red Tape — And It’s Getting Worse
In response to the falling rate of transfer from community colleges to four-year colleges, experts are calling out the shortcomings of the current transfer process. The Hechinger Report spoke with CCRC’s John Fink about the long road to a bachelor’s degree for today’s community college students. The story also ran in The Washington Post.
5 Ways to Pay for Community College
CCRC Senior Research Assistant Daniel Sparks spoke to U.S. News & World Report about the ways community college students can pay for their education and factors they should be aware of as they apply for funding.
Community College Update: The Best Outcome? Higher Income
Site Selection Magazine spoke with CCRC Senior Research Scholar Davis Jenkins about a collaborative project between the Aspen Institute and CCRC that aims to increase the number of community college students, especially those from historically underserved backgrounds, entering and completing programs that lead directly to family-sustaining wages and the efficient completion of a bachelor’s degree.
Aspen Institute and Community College Research Center to Create Publications Examining Transfer Student Outcomes and Best Practices
Diverse: Issues in Higher Education wrote about a collaboration between the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program and CCRC that will produce two publications in support of improving transfer student outcomes, particularly for students of color and low-income students.
A New Funding Formula
Texas is considering making the switch to outcome-based funding, rooted in metrics like retention, completion, and the successful transfer to four-year programs. CCRC's Nikki Edgecombe told Diverse: Issues in Higher Education that she hopes the change makes it through the Legislature.
A Campaign Fosters Faster Routes to Degrees
According to data from Complete College America, only 5% of full-time community college students nationwide graduate in two years; as Inside Higher Ed reports, some institutions, like Camden County College, are addressing this by implementing a "15 to Finish" campaign, which encourages students to take 15 credits per semester rather than the minimum of 12. CCRC Senior Research Scholar Davis Jenkins commented on the issue of student momentum: "Colleges are hemorrhaging these students. And they’re wasting talent. It’s an equity issue. It’s a workforce issue."
Can High Schoolers Save the Community College?
CCRC Senior Research Associate John Fink spoke to Inside Higher Ed about dual enrollment's complex role in the future of community colleges: "Colleges are not bringing in additional revenue [from dual enrollment]; most are just breaking even. A big part of making this sustainable is increasing the number of students who are coming back to that college after high school."
Turning an Economic Eye on Education
Michigan Today wrote about CCRC Senior Research Scholar Jordan Matsudaira's ongoing tenure as the inaugural chief economist for the U.S. Department of Education.
Dual Enrollment, Multiple Benefits
CCRC Senior Research Associate John Fink spoke to Diverse: Issues in Higher Education about his research on dual enrollment, specifically The Dual Enrollment Playbook: A Guide to Equitable Acceleration for Students.
Can Enrolling School Students Help US Colleges Improve Access?
CCRC Senior Research Associate John Fink shared his insights into dual enrollment with Times Higher Education: "What we do know is that in general, and in most circumstances, these courses really do benefit students...[b]ut we also know that in general, first-generation, low-income students of colour don’t have equal access to these programmes."
