CCRC in the News

Community colleges across the country are experimenting with ways to rebound from pandemic-related enrollment slides. CCRC Senior Research Scholar Davis Jenkins told Higher Ed Dive that in order to bring students back into the classroom, colleges must make it clear that their programs will lead to a good job or a bachelor's degree.

President Biden's call for free community college is an acknowledgment that workers need a postsecondary credential to meaningfully participate in the economy, CCRC Senior Research Scholar Davis Jenkins told Union-Bulletin. 

During his April 28 speech, President Biden said his proposal to expand access to free community college will help the United States compete with the rest of the world. CCRC Director Thomas Brock told The Washington Post that America's community colleges are difficult to compare to other countries' higher education systems, though similarities can be drawn to Canada, Australia, and Britain, where financial aid is also used to offset high tuition.

The Wisconsin legislature is considering a bill that would allow the state's technical colleges to offer more associate degree programs. CCRC Senior Research Associate Maria Cormier told Higher Ed Dive that increasing access to two-year degrees could help meet the demand for lifelong learning opportunities.  

Northwestern Connecticut Community College will join CCRC's summer institute on guided pathways. NCCC's local paper, The Litchfield County Times, celebrated the college's selection to the program. 

Community college enrollment has been decreasing on Long Island for the last decade, and the pandemic accelerated the trend. CCRC Senior Research Scholar Davis Jenkins told Newsday that the declines are not only a reflection of COVID-19, but also the importance of a four-year degree in communities like the New York City suburbs.

CCRC Director Thomas Brock discussed the alarming dip in community college enrollment, particularly among subpopulations of students including Black men, with CNBC. Because students can register for community college classes up until the semester begins, fall enrollment numbers will remain unclear for several more months.  

Black Americans on average owe about 50% more in student debt after they graduate than their white peers, prompting some to calls for debt cancellation as an anti-racist policy. CCRC Senior Research Scholar Judith Scott-Clayton told USA Today that the focus should be on helping students with the lowest levels of loan debt first because they often struggle the most to pay them off. 

Although the number of students transferring from two- to four-year colleges went up this spring, transfer enrollment is down overall and across community colleges in particular. CCRC Senior Research Associate John Fink told Inside Higher Ed he is not surprised by the trend, because bachelor's degrees are increasingly seen as offering the most secure path to a stable, resilient job. 

In the midst of pandemic-related enrollment declines, community colleges across the country have innovated to better serve and retain students. In this Christian Science Monitor story, CCRC Director Thomas Brock explains how important the sector is to students' and communities' short- and long-term economic prospects.