Publications
Stratified Trajectories: Charting Equity Gaps in Program Pathways Among Community College Students
Using nine years of data from one state, this paper tracks completion and transfer outcomes to examine when gaps between Black, Hispanic, and White community college students occur, and it estimates the benefits of reaching early academic milestones for such students.
The Next Phase of Placement Reform: Moving Toward Equity-Centered Practice
This CAPR brief provides guidance to institutions seeking to design and implement placement systems that redress limitations of test-only systems and that work in conjunction with other reforms to generate more equitable outcomes.
Community College STEM Pathways
This fact sheet describes how community colleges hold potential for diversifying the STEM workforce as well as the challenges that community college students face in completing STEM programs.
“Lost in the Shuffle”: How Relationships and Personalized Advisement Shape Transfer Aspirations and Outcomes for Community College Students
This journal article examines how students at six community colleges identified and weighed possible transfer destination colleges, and how dedicated and personalized advisement shaped students’ transfer plans and contributed to their transfer outcomes.
A Strategy for Estimating the Effects of Whole-College Guided Pathways Reforms in Community Colleges
This paper presents a methodology for assessing the scale of adoption and estimating the causal effects of guided pathways within states and across colleges that have adopted the approach.
Does Taking a Few Courses at a Community College Improve the Baccalaureate, STEM, and Labor Market Outcomes of Four-Year College Students?
Using data from the Education Longitudinal Study and a propensity score matching approach, this paper compares outcomes of four-year college students who earned either 1–10 credits or no credits at a community college.
Informed Self-Placement Today: An Exploratory Study of Student Outcomes and Placement Practices
This CAPR brief provides a taxonomy of various informed self-placement (ISP) systems, shares descriptive data from three colleges using ISP, and identifies important equity and access considerations for implementation.
Implementing Caring Campus With Nonacademic Staff: Lessons From Participating Colleges
Based on fieldwork at six institutions, this report describes how colleges are implementing Caring Campus/Staff, a program designed to engage nonacademic staff in improving interactions with students and fostering a culture of caring at community colleges.
Research Evidence on Community College Ask-Connect-Inspire-Plan Onboarding Practices
This brief describes the motivation, research evidence, and equity implications that underlie the Ask-Connect-Inspire-Plan framework as a useful strategy for community colleges.
The Fine Print on Free College: Who Benefits From New York’s Excelsior Scholarship?
Using data on students enrolled in two- and four-year colleges of the City University of New York, this essay assesses the distribution of benefits of the scholarship program in terms of who qualifies for, receives, and renews awards.
Improving College Success for Students in Corequisite Reading
Using administrative data, this report examines early college outcomes of students placed into corequisite reading courses at the 13 community colleges in the Tennessee Board of Regents system.
Preparing for Tomorrow's Middle-Skill Jobs: How Community Colleges Are Responding to Technology Innovation in the Workplace
Based on fieldwork at eight institutions, this report describes how community colleges are responding to workplace technology innovation by adapting their workforce programming, diversifying pathways to certificates and degrees, and addressing equity concerns.
The Role of Higher Education in High School Math Reform
Based on interviews with educators who are rethinking and revising secondary math coursework, this report describes the role of higher education in influencing high school math reform nationally and in three particular states.
The Effects of Corequisite Remediation: Evidence From a Statewide Reform in Tennessee
This paper provides the first causal evidence on a system-wide corequisite reform, using data from all 13 community colleges affiliated with the Tennessee Board of Regents.
Public Funding of Community Colleges
This policy fact sheet discusses revenue streams for community colleges, disparity in resources relative to public four-year colleges, and federal spending, including COVID-19 relief funding.
How Lesson Study Facilitated the Adoption of New Teaching Practices in a Community College Quantitative Reasoning Course
This article describes how lesson study—a structured, collaborative professional development intervention—encouraged developmental mathematics faculty at three community colleges to implement new approaches to instruction.
Lessons From Two Experimental Studies of Multiple Measures Assessment
This CAPR brief describes two recent experimental studies of multiple measures assessment, in which colleges use measures beyond placement test scores to determine students’ college readiness.
Catastrophe or Catalyst? Reflections on COVID’s Impact on Community Colleges
This essay discusses how students and community colleges responded to the pandemic and what their experiences reveal about inequities in higher education.
Increasing Gatekeeper Course Completion: Three-Semester Findings From an Experimental Study of Multiple Measures Assessment and Placement
This report describes findings from a random assignment study examining the implementation, cost, and efficacy of multiple measures assessments for placing students into college-level or developmental courses.
Measuring STEM Momentum: Early Indicators of STEM Transfer Success for Community College Students
Drawing on findings from a study of postsecondary college transcript and degree records, this brief describes metrics that may be useful in assessing efforts to improve STEM transfer outcomes.