Redesigning Community Colleges for Post Completion Success
April 13, 2026, 9:00—10:00 a.m.
CCRC’s book More Essential Than Ever argues that to recruit and retain students, community colleges must ensure programs lead to jobs paying a living wage or successful transfer to bachelor’s programs. This includes building versatile, active/experiential learning and helping students with limited time and competing obligations complete programs efficiently and affordably. These reforms, the “next frontiers” of whole-college practice, are essential to deliver value to students, families, and communities. This session will summarize CCRC’s research underpinning these reforms and feature presidents who will discuss strategies for engaging the college community, overcoming scaling obstacles, and provide recommendations for colleges at different reform stages.
Presenters
Davis Jenkins, Senior Research Scholar, CCRC
Hana Lahr, Assistant Director of Research and Director of Applied Learning, CCRC
Joe Schaffer, President, Laramie County Community College
Greg Williams, President, Odessa College
How to Scale Dual Enrollment Pathways to College and Career Success. . . Without Breaking the Bank
April 13, 2026, 12:45—1:45 p.m.
This session will highlight strategies that college leaders can use to scale and sustain dual enrollment programs that guide students who might not otherwise continue their education after high school into career-connected postsecondary pathways. The session will highlight key findings from a new report, “Community College Business Models for Scaling Dual Enrollment Pathways to College and Career Success.” Presidents of two colleges featured as case studies in the report will describe how in two different state funding contexts, they are deploying their limited resources–staff, facilities, technology, and finances– to cost-effectively implement dual enrollment as an onramp to college and career success for large numbers of students. Through interactive exercises, participants will be introduced to the “Inquiry and Action Guide to Creating a Business Model for Scaling Dual Enrollment Pathways to Success,” which CCRC created as a companion to a new research report.
Presenters
Kristie Fisher, President, Kirkwood Community College
Galen DeHay, President, Tri-County Technical College
Davis Jenkins, Senior Research Scholar, CCRC