Publications
Trends in Community College Enrollment and CalFresh Eligibility During the COVID-19 Pandemic
California Policy Lab | January 2025
This policy brief describes how eligibility for CalFresh changed among community college students because of broader college enrollment changes during the height of the pandemic and due to the temporary eligibility changes Congress made to SNAP.
Many California Community College Students Are Eligible For—But Not Receiving—CalFresh Benefits
California Policy Lab | December 2024
Using a linked database of student-level administrative data on college enrollment, financial aid, and CalFresh participation, this brief estimates how many California community college students are eligible for CalFresh, how many students are taking up those benefits, and how many are missing out.
Institutional and Student Responses to Free College: Evidence From Virginia
CCRC | September 2024
Using administrative data, this paper analyzes Get a Skill, Get a Job, Get Ahead (G3)—a free community college initiative that Virginia implemented in 2021—and shows that both institutions and students responded to the tuition-free messaging and eligibility criteria.
Examining Labor Market Variation in CTE Sectors: Evidence From Florida
WestEd | September 2024
Analysis in this brief shows that labor market indicators commonly used by CTE providers in Florida vary widely by program area and geographical region; it also illustrates disparate impacts of the pandemic by examining changes in labor market demand in CTE occupations over time.
Supporting Pandemic Recovery Through the Tennessee Coaching Project
TBR—The College System of Tennessee | August 2024
This brief describes a project that uses individualized coaching to enhance corequisite learning support in students’ first year, research designs for the project's evaluation, key findings from the first two years of implementation, and next steps.
Portraits of Resilience: Southern California Community College Students Navigating Challenges Amid the Pandemic
Wheelhouse | July 2024
Drawing on narratives by five community college students, this brief offers insights into the evolving challenges students faced during and after the pandemic and discusses how colleges can address student needs in the post-pandemic period.
Increasing Access to High-Demand Occupational Training: An Exploration of G3’s Recruitment and Enrollment Strategies
CCRC | July 2024
This brief uses enrollment and outcome data as well as interview data from eight colleges implementing the Get A Skill, Get A Job, Get Ahead (G3) program to examine college-level G3 outreach, recruitment, and enrollment strategies and the process for awarding G3 aid.
Labor Market Opportunities and Declining Community College Enrollment in the Pandemic Era The Picture in Los Angeles County
Center for Education Policy Research | July 2024
Using data from the Quarterly Workforce Indicators, this brief explores changes in the Los Angeles County labor market and in the working-age population as a plausible explanation for some of the enrollment decline at the county’s community college campuses.
Regaining Ground: Enrollment Trends in the Los Angeles Community College District in the Wake of COVID-19
Center for Education Policy Research | July 2024
In this brief, the authors examine changes in enrollments at the Los Angeles Community College District between fall 2017 and summer 2023 to document the extent of pandemic-era enrollment declines overall and across student populations.
From the Disruption of the Pandemic, a Path Forward for Community Colleges
Wheelhouse | June 2024
This article in Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning proposes flexibility in course formats as a key strategy to encourage enrollment and persistence post-pandemic and explores challenges associated with enrollment recovery. The authors include recommendations for college leaders to reengage students moving forward.
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