CCRC in the News
‘It’s Just Too Much’: Why Students Are Abandoning Community Colleges in Droves
CCRC Senior Research Scholar Davis Jenkins told The Hechinger Report that, rather than creating a whole new set of problems for community colleges, the COVID-19 pandemic has simply accelerated and exacerbated the issues the sector was facing before the crisis began.
Getting More Students to and Through College: The Story of Developmental Education Reform in North Carolina
EdNC details the history of developmental education in North Carolina, including the state's use of corequisite remediation and multiple measures assessment and placement. CCRC Senior Research Scholar Nikki Edgecombe offered her perspective on the data that encouraged leaders in North Carolina to take up developmental education reform. Edgecombe also contributed to EdNC's stories on corequisite remediation and the future of developmental education in the Tar Heel State.
How Are Community Colleges Paying for Guided Pathways?
Higher Ed Dive describes findings from CCRC's report estimating the cost of implementing guided pathways. A companion report includes resources for community college leaders who want to develop and sustain plans for funding the reforms.
How Two-Year Colleges Can Mitigate Student Enrollment Declines
Diverse: Issues in Higher Education contextualizes the drop in community college enrollment in the midst of the pandemic. CCRC Director Thomas Brock explains why this loss of learners matters not only for institutions but also for individual students and families.
Low-Income Community College Students Most Likely to Cancel Plans
In a November blog post, CCRC Research Affiliate Clive Belfield and CCRC Director Thomas Brock used census data to examine why students decided not to enroll in community colleges this fall. Inside Higher Ed explains what they found.
How the Pandemic Worsened—and Highlighted—Community Colleges’ Chronic Challenges
This Chronicle of Higher Education story contextualizes community colleges' pandemic enrollment woes. Many institutions were surprised to see enrollment drop so sharply this fall because they have historically struggled to track their students, CCRC Senior Research Scholar Davis Jenkins said.
Community Colleges Expected to Have Their Moment in Biden White House. But in Parting Salvo, DeVos Calls Ideas Like Free Tuition ‘Insidious’
President-elect Joe Biden plans to tap Cecilia Rouse, a higher education finance expert, to chair the Council of Economic Advisers, The 74 reports. CCRC Senior Research Scholar Judith Scott-Clayton said Rouse is a strong choice for the role and signals that the incoming administration will integrate higher education policy into its broader economic agenda.
Do Professors With a ‘Deficiency’ Mindset Prevent Community College Students From Earning Credit?
This EdSurge story relies on CAPR's latest paper on multiple measures assessment and placement to explain how placement tests act as a barrier for many aspiring community college students. CCRC Senior Research Scholar Elisabeth Barnett described CAPR's findings.
Developmental Education Reform Improved Passing Rates
A new study indicates that students in Florida are succeeding in introductory math and English courses at higher rates since the state adopted developmental education reform in 2013. CCRC Senior Research Associate Elizabeth Kopko told Inside Higher Ed that Florida's approach is notable because, rather than zeroing in on college preparedness, it focuses on boosting student supports and the quality of teaching and learning.
Columbia May Look Whiter and Wealthier Next Year. Here’s Why.
COVID-19 has forced college recruiting to go virtual, which may hurt low-income students and students of color, as these students not only belong to demographics disproportionately harmed by the pandemic but also have less frequent access to reliable technology. CCRC Senior Research Scholar Davis Jenkins told The Columbia Spectator that in order to be agents of social mobility, elite institutions like Columbia need to invest in recruiting diverse students and begin connecting with them earlier in their high school careers.