The Mixed Methods Blog

Perspectives from our researchers, highlights from recent studies, and other news about CCRC

Aftershocks: How the Pandemic Affected Community College Finances

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Four years after the initial COVID-19 outbreak, information showing how funding for community colleges was affected by the pandemic is now available. In this blog post, the authors highlight some overall findings from a newly released Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) dataset.

New Federal Transfer Data: Which Colleges Are Serving Community College Transfers Best?

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The U.S. Department of Education recently released data on community college student transfer and outcomes. What do the data reveal about how well colleges and universities are serving community college transfer students? This post highlights three major takeaways from the data.

What is the Role of Community Colleges in Healthcare Training?

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To better understand the role that community colleges play in training healthcare workers, CCRC analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)  to describe the availability of health-related programs—including nursing, allied health, and public health—and the number and characteristics of students who completed credentials in those programs. Maria Cormier breaks down what the data suggests about community college healthcare programs.

The (50) State(s) of Transfer Data

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Students are told that enrolling in a community college is an affordable onramp to a bachelor’s degree. But in reality, only a small percentage of students transfer and graduate. To fix the problem, experts first have to know what’s causing it. Alex Anacki and Jessica Steiger address the current lack of available transfer data.

Budgets as Value Statements: Mapping How Finance Systems Drive or Reduce Inequities in Community Colleges

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There is no simple recipe for developing an equitable, effective community college funding system. But understanding the challenges facing community colleges and the finance systems that underpin them can help policymakers, educators, and advocates develop new funding approaches. Kate Shaw, Lauren Asher, and Stephanie Murphy share findings from their latest report, Mapping Community College Finance Systems to Develop Equitable and Effective Finance Policy.