CCRC in the News

COVID-19 has forced college recruiting to go virtual, which may hurt low-income and non-white students who 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 deliberately invest in recruiting diverse students and begin connecting with them earlier in their high school careers. 

CCRC Senior Research Scholar Judith Scott-Clayton spoke to NPR about the broader economic consequences of student debt. A startling percentage of borrowers who default on their student loans have lower amounts of debt and never finished a degree.

CCRC Director Thomas Brock told The Wall Street Journal that, in hindsight, the drops in community college enrollment are not particularly surprising, considering the pandemic's outsized effect on non-white and lower-income Americans. Typically, community college enrollment increases when there is an economic downturn, as people return to school to reskill; that has not been the case this fall.  

CCRC Research Affiliate Yuxin Lin told CNBC that though most students who take gap years do so out of economic necessity, delaying college can result in significant earnings losses over the course of the student's career.

Clarke University—a small, private university in Iowa—partnered with the state's community colleges to create transfer pathways for students in several degree programs, Inside Higher Ed reports. CCRC Senior Research Associate John Fink applauded the partnership, which offers transfer students scholarships and guarantees associate degree holders enter with junior standing. 

Selective four-year colleges are reaching out to prospective community college transfer students in an effort to counteract dipping enrollment, Community College Daily reports. CCRC Senior Research Associate John Fink acknowledged that competition spurs poaching and said it's important for colleges to ensure transfer students are supported to earn a bachelor's degree once they change institutions.

President-elect Joe Biden proposed a program that would provide $10,000 of student debt relief for every year of national or community service, up to five years. CCRC Senior Research Scholar Judith Scott-Clayton told NBC that prioritizing student debt is a "no-brainer." 

• Scott-Clayton also spoke to The Chronicle of Higher Education about the racial implications of student debt relief.

This Community College Daily story summarizes CCRC's latest guided pathways reports, which estimate the cost of the reforms and offers guidance for how to fund and sustain them.

Bucking national trends, enrollment at the Community College of Vermont has stayed near its pre-pandemic levels this semester. CCRC Senior Research Scholar Davis Jenkins told VT Digger that the college's relatively high tuition rate may have been a factor because students were already used to paying more to attend classes. 

CCRC Senior Research Scholar Davis Jenkins told Insider Higher Ed he's not particularly surprised that new data indicate transfer enrollment is down 4.7% compared to last fall. Enrollment across higher education and at community colleges, in particular, has decreased during the pandemic. 

• CCRC Director Tom Brock spoke to The Chronicle of Higher Education about the decline in transfer enrollments and noted that he is concerned the dip in students will lead to a drop in funding for community colleges.