February 18–21, 2025
Philadelphia, PA
More Essential than Ever: Community College Pathways to Educational and Career Success
February 19, 10:30–10:30 AM
In this session, CCRC researchers will review the research presented in CCRC's forthcoming book, More Essential than Ever: Community College Pathways to Educational and Career Success. They will highlight the need for, and strategies for scaling community colleges reforms in four key areas: 1) ensuring programs lead to good jobs and further education, 2) creating a more engaging recruitment and onboarding experience, 3) helping students complete their programs on schedule and affordably, and 4) rethinking dual enrollment as an on-ramp to college and career opportunity. They will describe the steps colleges and state agencies can take to plan for and implement these reform priorities.
Presenters
Davis Jenkins, Senior Research Scholar, CCRC
Hana Lahr, Assistant Director of Research and Director of Applied Learning, CCRC
Transforming Transfer: Findings from the New Edition of the Transfer Playbook
February 19, 12:30–1:00 PM
Community colleges play a pivotal role in shaping students’ educational journeys, yet far too few students achieve their aspirations of earning a bachelor’s degree. The Transfer Playbook 2.0 offers a comprehensive framework designed to address the persistent challenges of transfer student success, particularly for students of color and low-income students. This session will explore how community colleges can make transfer a presidential priority, align program pathways and high-quality instruction, and tailor advising and support services to foster trust and engagement.
The session will include data analysis from community colleges that have strong and equitable outcomes, as well as case studies that demonstrate how institutional leadership and cross-institutional partnerships can achieve large-scale success. Attendees will leave with clear, actionable steps to implement the Transfer Playbook 2.0 framework, helping them drive transfer success and improve bachelor’s degree attainment rates for their students, particularly those from historically underserved populations.
Presenters
Josh Wyner, Executive Director, College Excellence Program, The Aspen Institute
Pascale Charlot, Managing Director, College Excellence Program
Tatiana Velasco, Senior Research Associate, CCRC
Unlocking Opportunity: Eight Strategies To Strengthen the Value of Community College Credentials
February 19, 3:45–4:45 PM
Evidence consistently shows that fewer than half of certificate holders and associate degree holders earn more than $35,000 per year two years after completion—below most living-wage standards. And in both transfer and workforce pathways, students of color and low-income students are least likely to enroll in and complete programs that are aligned with high levels of post-graduation success.
Through the Unlocking Opportunity network, the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program and Community College Research Center have begun to address these challenges and gleaned early insights on how to improve 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. During the session, attendees will learn about eight scaled areas of reform that have emerged from Unlocking Opportunity and how they might implement similar strategies at their own institution.
Presenters
Millicent Bender, Director - Leadership and Field Engagement, College Excellence Program
Davis Jenkins, Senior Research Scholar, CCRC
Marcia Ballinger, President, Lorain County Community College
Greg Williams, President, Odessa College
Jason Wood, President, Southwest Wisconsin Technical College
Diving DEEP: Dual Enrollment Equity Pathways as a Model for Increasing College Access
February 20, 10:30–11:30 AM
In this session, the Community College Research Center (CCRC) will describe how college/K12 partnerships have effectively expanded college access by extending guided pathway reforms to their dual enrollment programs with a focus on underserved students and high schools. CCRC will describe the dual enrollment equity pathways (DEEP) framework, including key practices, leadership strategies, and incentives for college and K12 partners. Leaders from Lee College and Miami Dade College will describe what DEEP practices they have scaled, how they are finding ‘win-wins’ with their K12 partners, and the outcomes they are seeing as a result. In a panel discussion, presenters will unpack the business models and economics of taking a DEEP approach to dual enrollment, highlighting case-making strategies for further investments in redesigning dual enrollment as an onramp to college and career opportunity.
Presenters
John Fink, Senior Research Assistant and Program Lead, CCRC
Aurely Garcia Tulloch, Senior Research Assistant, CCRC
Marissa Moreno, Associate Vice President of Transfer & Educational Partnerships, Lee College
Phil Giarraffa, Executive Director, Articulation & Academic Pathways, Miami Dade College
Building Students’ Confidence and Learning Skills in Online Classes: Lessons from the Postsecondary Collaborative
February 21, 9:00–10:00 AM
Online courses are popular with students and faculty. Their popularity belies a troubling reality: student outcomes in online courses are lower than those of in-person courses and minoritized students fare worse. What contributes to lower outcomes and inequities? Research suggests a range of contributors that show up as academic mindsets and behaviors that can undermine learning and achievement, such as weak motivation and depressed participation. The Postsecondary Teaching with Technology Collaborative is working to boost online course outcomes for minoritized students. It has developed technology-enabled instructional strategies designed to grow students’ self-directed learning (SDL), or how students manage their learning, in online STEM courses. In this session, researchers and faculty will present and discuss the evidence and intervention, share implementation successes and challenges, and explore case-making and implementation strategies.
Presenters
Krystal Thomas, Senior Education Researcher, SRI Education
Amy E. Brown, Research Associate, CCRC
