Unlocking Opportunity: Strategies to Strengthen Credential Value
April 14, 2025, 4:15–5:00 pm | Room 105B
Unlocking Opportunity is a new reform project of the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program, the Community College Research Center, and ten community colleges; each has set goals to increase the number of students enrolled in and graduating from “high value” program pathways. Over the past two years, we have uncovered new insights on improving post-graduation outcomes for community college students by ensuring that more students are on pathways that lead to living-wage jobs or efficient transfer and bachelor’s completion. This session will highlight strategies for strengthening post-graduation student outcomes by exploring eight scalable reforms from the Unlocking Opportunity network. Presenters will reflect on how these strategies have helped reinforce and diversify enrollment and completion of high-value workforce and transfer programs, challenges faced during implementation, and what advice they would provide other colleges seeking to improve their program enrollments and outcomes. This information will enable attendees to consider how they might implement similar strategies at their institution.
Presenters
- Leigh B. Goodson, President and CEO, Tulsa Community College
- Joshua Wyner, Executive Director, Aspen Institute College Excellence Program
- Davis Jenkins, Senior Research Scholar, CCRC
Stronger Community College Finance as a Lever for Student Success
April 15, 2025, 10:45–11:45 am | Room 206A
This session is designed to engage audience members in considering both the challenges and opportunities inherent in moving towards more adequate, equitable, and effective community college funding. It will also provide an opportunity for audience members to explore how specific contextual factors in their states might affect such efforts. Specifically, the session will consider the following themes: What are the opportunities and challenges to equitable community college finance and student outcomes? What does it really cost to support students through credential attainment? How can categorical funding allocations contribute to more equitable student outcomes? Researchers from HCM and CCRC will give short, Ted-talk-style presentations. A Representative from the Tennessee Board of Regents will provide reactions and contextualize these findings presentations within the Tennessee funding landscape. Then, attendees will break into small groups to explore issues and questions raised by panelists and finally reconvene to share their enhanced understanding through a facilitated discussion.
Presenters
- Maria S. Cormier, Senior Research Associate, CCRC
- Stephanie Murphy, Director of State and Policy Research, HCM Strategists
- Russ Deaton, Executive Vice Chancellor for Policy and Strategy, Tennessee Board of Regents
Understanding the Dual Enrollment Student Experience
April 15, 2025, 10:45–11:45 am | Room 202A
Dual enrollment offers high school students the chance to engage with college-level coursework and earn college credit, often at little to no cost, which is particularly beneficial for students from historically underserved populations. For this experience to be meaningful, it is crucial to set students on a path to success by understanding their dual enrollment experiences. This presentation will present findings from the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE), focusing on two pilot administrations of the Dual Enrollment Survey of Student Engagement (DESSE). Insights from the Community College Research Center’s National Student Clearinghouse data analysis regarding the postsecondary outcomes of dual enrollment students based on race, gender, and income will be presented. Additionally, presenters will discuss the initiatives at Lorain County Community College (OH) that have resulted in college credit attainment rates that surpass state and national averages. Participants will engage in an activity designed to model how colleges can investigate and discuss dual enrollment student experiences to enhance support for these learners.
Presenters
- Courtney Adkins, Director, Center for Community College Student Engagement at The University of Texas at Austin
- Davis Jenkins, Senior Research Scholar, CCRC
- Marcia Ballinger, President, Lorain County Community College
Transforming Transfer: The Transfer Playbook 2.0 Framework for Sustainable Success
April 15, 2025, 2:30–3:00 pm | Room 203A
The Transfer Playbook 2.0 offers a comprehensive framework to address the persistent challenges of transfer student success, particularly for students of color and low-income students. This session will explore the three pillars of Aspen’s and CCRC’s research into how community colleges achieve high and equitable levels of student success in transfer: (1) making transfer a presidential priority, (2) aligning program pathways and high-quality instruction to the goal of transfer student success, and (3) tailoring advising and support services to foster trust and engagement. Presenters will provide practical insights into institutional changes that can significantly improve bachelor’s attainment rates, and attendees will be left with actionable steps to transform their institutions’ transfer success strategies.
Presenters
- Davis Jenkins, Senior Research Scholar, CCRC
- Jim Murdaugh, President, Tallahassee Community College
- Joshua Wyner, Executive Director, Aspen Institute College Excellence Program
Strengthening Pathways to Educational and Career Success
April 15, 2025, 1:00–2:00 pm | Room 206A
CCRC researchers will preview lessons for further transforming community colleges for student success from their forthcoming Harvard Education Press book based on research on guided pathways reforms in over 100 colleges nationally since Redesigning America’s Community Colleges. Together with a leader from an early adopter guided pathways college, they will discuss the progress colleges have made implementing guided pathways practices and next frontier strategies for increasing timely and affordable completion of programs that prepare students for success in jobs and further education after graduation.
Presenters
- Hana Lahr, Assistant Director of Research and Director of Applied Learning, CCRC
- Davis Jenkins, Senior Research Scholar, CCRC
- Tonjua Williams, President, St. Petersburg College
