CCRC in the News
‘Demographics Are Not Destiny’
A new Brookings report found that community college students enrolled in programs with more underrepresented students earn less and struggle to pay back their student loans. In light of these findings, CCRC Senior Research Scholar Davis Jenkins told Inside Higher Ed that many colleges have programs that lead to well-paying jobs—it's just a matter of steering students toward them.
More Community Colleges Are Mandating Coronavirus Vaccination
Community colleges in Maryland are increasingly imposing vaccine requirements on faculty, staff, and students, but their counterparts in Virginia have instead opted to encourage rather than require the COVID-19 shots. CCRC Senior Research Scholar Davis Jenkins told The Washington Post that community colleges tend to avoid appearing partisan, noting that the open-access institutions are still recovering from pandemic-related enrollment declines and therefore may not want to impose additional barriers like vaccine requirements on prospective students.
Student Enrollment at Arizona's Community Colleges Continues to Fall
Arizona community colleges are still seeing enrollment number drop more than 18 months into the pandemic. CCRC Director Tom Brock told AZ Central that one explanation for the declines is that the virus has disproportionately affected populations that community colleges serve.
Reynolds Community College Works to Re-enroll Lost Students
Officials at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College, a Virginia college where enrollment has dropped by 20% since the start of the pandemic, are considering new approaches to bring students back into the classroom. CCRC Senior Research Scholar Elisabeth Barnett told The Henrico Citizen that there several reasons for the national decline in community college enrollment, including that students' lives are complicated and that online learning may not offer them as great a value.
Households With Kids See Continued Educational Hurdles as Pandemic Drags On
Census survey data reveals that a significant number of American students in every region of the United States changed their postsecondary plans as a result of the pandemic. CCRC Director Thomas Brock, who analyzed similar census data last year, told Education Week that although he's less optimistic than he was before the onset of the Delta variant, he still believes the community college sector's worst pandemic days have passed.
‘A Red Flag’ on Transfers
Racial inequities plague upward transfer enrollment, according to a new report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center that also found that colleges and universities lost nearly 200,000 transfer students from July 2020 to June 2021. CCRC Senior Research Associate John Fink told Inside Higher Ed that the upward transfer rate, which remained relatively steady during the last year, is still too low.
Community College Bachelor’s Degrees Help Achieve Access and Equity
Community college students often transfer with a significant number of excess credits. CCRC Director Thomas Brock told Diverse: Issues in Higher Education that one of the benefits of earning a baccalaureate degree from a community college is that students can avoid retaking classes after transferring to a four-year institution.
Biden's Free Community College Plan Won't Succeed Without Robust Transfer Strategies
In this Education Dive op-ed, the Aspen Institute's Gelsey Mehl cites CCRC research on improving transfer student outcomes to argue that free community college programs are most effective when educators and lawmakers ensure students can transfer their free credits to earn a bachelor's degree. Mehl is a coauthor of The Dual Enrollment Playbook, a 2020 joint publication between CCRC and the Aspen Institute.
How Tennessee Schools Are Helping Aspiring Barbers With High Debt Kickstart Their Careers
Many aspiring barbers and cosmetologists in Tennessee struggle under the weight of student loan debt accumulated during their training. CCRC Senior Research Scholar Judith Scott-Clayton told Commercial Appeal that policy proposals to forgive even modest amounts of student debt would go a long way because many people who fall behind on their loan payments owe less than $10,000.
New Research Center to Explore Future of Online Learning
This EdScoop story describes CCRC and SRI's newly launched IES-funded research center, which aims to address inequities in online learning in college. Government Technology, University Business, and The Town-Crier also covered the center's announcement. EdSource mentioned it in a story about California governor Gavin Newsom's continued support of Calbright, the state's fully online community college.