Report: Average College Student Not on Track to Finish in Five Years
According to a new report from the National Student Clearinghouse, the average full-time student doesn't earn enough credits to complete a bachelor’s degree in five years. But the problem, CCRC Senior Research Scholar Davis Jenkins stresses, is structural: "Colleges need to dramatically shift their orientation to helping students get momentum."
Expanding Access to Transfer Pathways
New transfer pathways are expected to be available to students in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont in two years. As CCRC Senior Research Associate John Fink notes, "People know we need to do something differently because what we’re doing is not really working."
Influencer 101
For Inside Higher Ed, CCRC Senior Research Scholar Davis Jenkins weighs in on an Ohio community college's decision to offer a social media influencer training program: “This is precisely the kind of thing community colleges need to do to attract students."
Tarrant County College’s New Approach to Degrees Could Get Students From Class to Careers Quicker
As discussed in the Fort Worth Report, Tarrant County College is implementing guided pathways to help students clarify their goals, complete their studies, and earn their credentials.
There's a New Way to Help College Students Transfer: Admit Them to Two Schools at Once
In this NBC News report, CCRC Senior Research Associate John Fink contextualizes the rise of dual and guaranteed admissions: "Our transfer system, or nonsystem, was failing students even before the pandemic. It was extremely ineffective and inequitable, and now it’s in even more of a crisis."
The Path Ahead for Community Colleges
In The Chronicle of Higher Education, CCRC Director Thomas Brock addresses the existential crisis facing community colleges in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Department of Education Appoints Its First Chief Economist
As the Department of Education's first chief economist, Jordan Matsudaira, an associate professor of economics and education policy at Teachers College, Columbia University, will leverage the four decades of data that the agency has amassed, Marketplace reports.
Ivy Tech Spent Years Trying to Improve Rock Bottom Graduation Rates — and It’s Working
In a WFYI report on Ivy Tech Community College's commitment to improving graduation rates, CCRC Senior Research Associate and Program Lead Susan Bickerstaff discussed the pitfalls of developmental education, specifically its demotivating effect on first-year college students.
Why Does the Education Department Need a Chief Economist?
CCRC Senior Research Scholar Jordan Matsudaira has been named the first-ever chief economist for the U.S. Department of Education to bring more economic data and analysis to higher education policy decisions. Matsudaira talked with The Chronicle of Higher Education about the department’s new approach.
For LI's Community Colleges, Steep Challenges Ahead
CCRC Director Tom Brock talked to Newsday about the challenges facing Long Island's community colleges.
