Publications

This report presents findings from a first-of-its kind study on the experience and outcomes of low-skill adults in community colleges.

This chapter discusses the challenge of aligning four necessary elements—instructor approach, student needs, curricular content, and instructional support—in the developmental classroom.

This report presents a critical analysis of the state of the research on the effectiveness of specific practices in increasing persistence and completion at community colleges.

This report summarizes statistics on access and attainment in higher education, focusing on community college students, using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988.

This paper examines institutional characteristics that affect the success of community college students as measured by the individual student probability of completing a certificate or degree or transferring to a baccalaureate institution.

This publication identifies current organizational and instructional approaches to developmental education in community colleges and recommends a process by which colleges can make institutionally appropriate decisions to improve developmental education outcomes.

This report summarizes the latest available national statistics on access and attainment by low-income and racial/ethnic minority community college students.

This report reviews the state of research on the determinants of student outcomes in community colleges and initiates a program of empirical research on institutional graduation rates.

This report estimates the returns to a sub-baccalaureate education in response to the debate centered on whether vocational education restricts access to a four-year college.

This journal article details a case study on 15 community colleges across the United States and includes findings revealing important means of increasing students' academic preparedness for postsecondary study.

This brief presents a profile of the enrollment, demographic, and educational characteristics and educational goals of community college students in occupational programs.

This paper provides an in-depth account of the impact of expansion on 15 colleges participating in CCRC's National Field Study.

In CCRC's 2004 newsletter, Director Thomas Bailey discusses CCRC’s analyses of national survey data to identify demographic and educational characteristics of community college students, assess community college student outcomes, and determine the economic benefits of a community college education.

Institutionalization and Sustainability of the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education Program

This report looks at the structure of literacy and adult education in the United States, with a focus on the role of community colleges.

Using case study research conducted at eight community colleges in five states, this report examines the issue of, and controversy over, the ever-expanding missions of community colleges.

This literature review examines research on the effectiveness of school-based career guidance and development programs.

This article examines the logic of the "improved school finance," which posits that understanding how resources are used at the school and classroom levels is necessary for determining equitable funding.

This report presents the findings of exploratory research designed to identify the characteristics of the outsourcing of instruction at community colleges and the forces that promote or block its spread.

Focusing on dual enrollment, Tech Prep, AP, IB, and middle college high schools, this report offers a comprehensive look at the evidence base on this rapidly growing group of education initiatives.

This book explores the potential for using work-based learning as part of a broad education reform strategy.

This journal article discusses the purposes, possibilities, and pitfalls of classifying two-year colleges.

This article provides a researcher's perspective about classification systems for two-year colleges

The intent of this volume is to advance the conversation among researchers and practitioners about possible approaches to classifying two-year colleges.

This paper discusses the process and impact of the ATE innovation from several different dimensions by examining instructional and institutional factors that affect the process of curriculum integration.

This paper reports on findings from a qualitative study that examined students' academic preparedness and assessment and placement policies in 15 U.S. community colleges.

In CCRC's 2003 newsletter, Director Thomas Bailey discusses the fiscal crisis facing community colleges and reviews some of the findings from CCRC's national field study of community colleges and CCRC's research on the educational outcomes of community college occupational students.

This paper discusses the economic returns to education for African American and Hispanic students and the performance of community colleges in increasing college access for ethnic minority students.

This book examines the origins and early history of the American community college and the role played by Teachers College in that history.

This article discusses the potential of noncredit education in community colleges as a bridge to college for the most disadvantaged youth and adults.

This article provides an overview of preexisting relationships between high school and colleges and discusses the promising initiative of dual enrollment.

This report, commissioned by the Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) of the U.S. Department of Education, examines the rationale for federal involvement in occupational education.

This journal article describes the uneven supply of contract training by community colleges.

This report is a quantitative analysis of postsecondary occupational education students using national datasets.

This report examines community colleges' successes and failures in their role as a bridge to opportunity for disadvantaged students and discusses changes they could make to be more effective in this role.

This paper reports on a two-year research study jointly conducted by CCRC and National Center for Postsecondary Improvement that compares for-profit institutions with community colleges.

This paper argues that community colleges should be a major institution helping disconnected youth reconnect to education.

This journal article explores the decision-making factors for students applying to postsecondary institutions, with a focus on issues related to student ethnicity.

This journal article discusses the performance of community college remedial writing students on a task that required them to compose an informational report from sources.

This chapter discusses the challenges of community colleges, trends leading to enrollment growth, and the controversy over mission expansion and offers suggestions for reform. A brief version is also available.

This book chapter examines the rise of the school-to-work movement in the late 1980s and continued throughout the 1990s, and discusses work-based learning pedagogies.

This article provides information on two major settings for literacy education for adults: adult basic education and community college remedial programs.

CCRC Brief No. 13 focuses on immigrant enrollment in community colleges and two-year associate degree programs in City University of New York (CUNY) senior colleges.

This monograph explores the nurse licensure debate, what is known about the programmatic differences between pre-licensure programs, and research on the job performance of ADN- and BSN-educated nurses.

This report reviews the available evidence on the economic benefits of postsecondary education below the level of the baccalaureate degree, concentrating on the effects of community colleges.

This nine-part series presents case material from a study of curriculum and pedagogy for integrated instruction in seven community colleges across the country.

This article discusses mainstreaming and centralization, two ways in which community colleges organize developmental education.

This book chapter features a credible discussion of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act.

This book chapter, published in Higher Education in the United States: An Encyclopedia, provides an overview of occupational education in higher education.

This book chapter discusses issues pertaining to tech prep programs, which link students’ secondary and postsecondary education experiences and help ...