Understanding the Needs of First-Generation College Students Who Stop Out
Based on survey and interview data from first-generation students who stopped out of four colleges in California, this brief examines students’ reasons for leaving, the role their social networks played in informing or supporting their decision, and how they thought about their futures—including the possibility of reenrollment.
Financing Community Colleges: Current Landscape and Future Directions
This book chapter describes how state funding formulas, enrollment declines, and federal recovery investments during the COVID-19 pandemic intersect to shape future prospects for community college revenues and spending patterns.
Unlocking Opportunity: Eight Strategies for Community Colleges to Improve Post-Completion Outcomes
This practice guide builds on the work of colleges in the Unlocking Opportunity Network by offering practical strategies that can help more students graduate with credentials that lead directly to good jobs or transfer and successful attainment of a bachelor’s degree.
Selecting a Program of Study: How Certain Are Community College Students About Their Choice and Does It Change?
This report discusses the program choice process among 42 student interviewees; it describes factors that influenced their choice and how their choice often changed, and it offers recommendations to better support students in selecting a program.
Why Did They Leave? Learning From the Experiences of Former Community College Students
Based on survey findings from 480 former students who stopped out of community college before the start of their second year, this report sheds light on the experiences of this population and their reasons for leaving college.