CCRC in the News
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.
Free College Programs Should Be Simple, New York’s Excelsior Scholarship Is Not
A recent story in Forbes reported on new research from Judith Scott-Clayton, CJ Libassi, and Daniel Sparks on New York's Excelsior Scholarship, noting that while Excelsior was the first free college proposal to cover both two and four-year institutions, critiques about the downsides of its complex design are holding true.
Hoops and Hurdles
Inside Higher Ed wrote about a new Urban Institute report on New York's Excelsior Scholarship by CCRC researchers Judith Scott-Clayton, CJ Libassi, and Daniel Sparks. They found that take-up of the last-dollar program, which targets and mostly serves middle-income students, is low. They hypothesize that the application process and complex contracts students must sign may impede access to benefits.
College Enrollment Is Falling. Here's How It Could Impact the Economy
CCRC Director Tom Brock talked to MarketWatch for a video about the drop in enrollment at community colleges and concerns about its effects on the economy and the health of the colleges. More apprenticeships could be one solution, Brock said.
States Look to Community Colleges to Fill Labor Gap
CCRC Director Tom Brock spoke with Stateline about the push to expand workforce training and some of the concerns about short-term programs.