By Hana Lahr and Umika Kumar
We are excited to announce the cohort for CCRC’s 2021 virtual summer institute, Guided Pathways at Rural Colleges: Using Data to Launch Large-Scale Reform. Following a competitive application and interview process, we selected 22 teams representing 25 colleges in 19 states. The map below shows the participating colleges. We’re grateful to Ascendium Education Group for providing us with the resources to offer this institute free of charge and for supporting our research about the challenges and opportunities for institutional transformation in rural community colleges.
During the two-week institute, college teams will examine data on student enrollment, coursetaking, and completion by program and discuss the implications of these data for college redesign. Each team will develop a customized plan to engage their college community in conversations about implementing reforms that will help the college recruit and retain students in high-opportunity programs connected to their long-term goals.
CCRC developed this institute to support rural and rural-serving community colleges as they implement guided pathways reforms. Through this work, colleges can promote upward mobility in their communities by ensuring that all students have the opportunity and support to explore, enter, and complete programs that lead to family-sustaining jobs or transfer to a four-year institution without excess credits. These institutions play a crucial role in their communities, and pathways reforms must be adapted to colleges with vast service areas, multiple campuses, and students with diverse educational and career goals.
Institute Content
Information-sharing will go both ways during the institute. In addition to discussing guided pathways strategies with cohort colleges, the CCRC team is looking forward to learning about the challenges and opportunities for institutional transformation in rural community colleges. We also hope to learn more about the particular needs of rural students and families and how colleges can respond to these needs. We plan to share what we have learned from these colleges in the fall and to use this institute to contribute to conversations about rural higher education and student success.
Institute Participants
Session I: June 14–24
| Northland Pioneer College, AZ | Porterville College, CA | South Florida State College, FL |
| Big Sandy Community & Technical College, KY | Northeast Community College, NE | Eastern New Mexico University–Ruidoso Branch Community College, NM |
| Genesee Community College, NY | Central Oregon Community College, OR | Piedmont Technical College, SC |
| Technical College of the Lowcountry, SC | Richard Bland College of William & Mary, VA | New River Community and Technical College, WV |
Session II: July 12–22
| Mohave Community College, AZ | Colorado Mountain College, CO | Northwestern Connecticut Community College, CT |
| Maine Community College System, ME | Eastern Maine Community College, ME | Kennebec Valley Community College, ME |
| Southern Maine Community College, ME | Washington County Community College, ME | Greenfield Community College, MA |
| Gogebic Community College, MI | Minnesota State Community and Technical College, MN | White Mountains Community College, NH |
| Herkimer County Community College, NY | Lakeshore Technical College, WI |
Hana Lahr is a senior research associate and program lead at CCRC. Umika Kumar is a research assistant at CCRC.