Publications

This paper estimates technical efficiency scores across the community college sector; it finds that the colleges have become more efficient over time but finds no evidence of economies of scale.

This journal article examines the impact of acceleration on access, performance, credit accumulation, and degree attainment at CUNY.

This practitioner packet provides tools to help community college administrators effectively implement reforms to developmental education at their colleges.

This issue of Inside Out identifies and explores the implications of three faculty orientations toward reform that consistently manifest when an innovation is introduced: ready to act, ambivalent, and reluctant to change.

This paper examines the political forces supporting the enactment of performance funding 2.0 programs—in which performance funding is embedded into base state funding for higher education—in three leading states.

This brief summarizes the research on the impacts of performance funding and suggests ways policymakers implementing performance funding programs can address obstacles and avoid unexpected outcomes.

This paper employs a novel graphical technique to illustrate the diverse enrollment patterns of community college students and examines the relationship between these patterns and successful student outcomes.

This paper argues that policymaking has been impaired by neglect of the fact that returns to college are high and by acceptance of the myth that the college affordability crisis is due to colleges' wasteful spending.

This publication describes efforts by a growing number of colleges and universities to create “guided pathways” designed to increase the rate at which students enter and complete a program of study.

Based on interviews with stakeholders in California, New York, Tennessee, and West Virginia, this report compares initiatives in these states related to early college readiness assessments and transition curricula.

This two-page policy brief summarizes research on early assessment and college readiness "transition courses" and makes recommendations for states considering the approach.

Using an instrumental variable technique, the authors estimate the impact of online versus face-to-face course delivery on student course performance, as indicated by course persistence and final course grade.

Based on survey and focus group data from four community colleges, this research brief discusses why many students who go on to enroll in developmental math are unlikely to prepare for the math placement exam.

This brief examines characteristics and course-taking patterns of students who accumulate a substantial number of college credits but do not earn an award by their fifth year of enrollment.

Findings from this paper suggest that while Pell recipients at community colleges have a stronger academic focus than non-Pell recipients, they may be taking more time to complete a credential than is prudent.

This journal article reviews the evidence for contextualization, an instructional approach that connects foundational skills and college-level content.

Using data from a qualitative investigation of online courses at two community colleges, this paper examines how expectations about the roles of online student and online instructor differ among these two groups.

In this discussion paper, the authors argue that the time has come to comprehensively redesign the Pell program, and they propose three major structural reforms to the Pell Grant program.

This practitioner packet summarizes the research on nonacademic student supports and suggests ways to implement a system of nonacademic supports that will have more sustained impacts on student success.

This study reviews the theories of action that advocates of performance funding have espoused for higher education in three states that are leaders in performance funding: Indiana, Ohio, and Tennessee.

Melinda Mechur Karp reviews Higher Education in the Digital Age and argues that the author ignores the potential stratifying effects of online learning in higher education.

This issue of Inside Out describes how community college faculty are working to increase rigor within reformed developmental education classrooms.

This publication examines the diversity of enrollment patterns among community college students and demonstrates a novel graphical technique for displaying large numbers of enrollment patterns.

This monograph reviews the national and state literature on the forms and impacts of performance funding, and it includes policy recommendations and suggestions for further research.

This journal article describes two experiments conducted with developmental students that investigated the impact of a contextualized intervention focused on written summarization and other reading and writing skills.

Using data on credit accumulation, award receipt, and earnings, this paper examines whether it is better for students to earn an associate degree before transferring to a four-year college.

This CAPSEE working paper reviews current research on the effectiveness of interventions and reforms that seek to improve the math preparedness and success of high school students entering college.

Drawing on a scan of remedial reform efforts and fieldwork at 11 colleges, this paper examines trends in reform implementation and provides a framework for strengthening reform efforts and institutional capacity.

This article reviews studies published from 2000 to 2012 on the literacy skills of underprepared postsecondary students and identifies reading and writing processes that have been overlooked in the literature.

This introduction summarizes the purpose and key findings of the four articles in a special edition of the Community College Review.

This publication compares how long it takes students to reach important progression milestones based on their level of academic readiness upon entry.

This article reviews research on what community colleges and less selective public universities can do to graduate more students at a lower cost without sacrificing access or quality.

This article reviews the evidence on various student aid programs and their effects on college enrollment, persistence, and completion and discusses the implications of these findings for aid policy.

This short paper identifies states in which local and statewide efforts have been made to implement early college readiness assessments and transition curricula.

Based on a case study of the City University of New York's six community colleges, this publication identifies the conflicting motivations that shape developmental education reform efforts.

This literature review examines the evidence on student decision making in the community college, focusing on the activities most relevant to students’ entry into programs of study—academic and career planning.

In CCRC's 2013 newsletter, Director Thomas Bailey discusses CCRC’s recent research on online education and nonacademic skills and argues that to maximize the potential of online learning, community colleges need to bolster supports for students and instructors.

This publication, the second in CCRC’s Analytics series, examines the progression of community college students in transfer-oriented programs through the general education core curriculum.

This report examines the use of data on students by faculty, administrators, and student services staff at six Washington State colleges that joined Achieving the Dream in 2006–2007.

This report introduces an approach to examining students’ college experiences, identifying factors that catalyze or impede their progress, and using these insights to improve student outcomes.

This publication examines the hidden complexity of completion outcome data and offers an approach to teasing out the complex factors that affect student completion in order to boost student success.

This publication presents eight core ideas to help community college leaders and practitioners address the fundamental challenges to student success.

This practitioner packet summarizes CCRC findings on online course outcomes and presents insights and recommendations for administrators and instructors seeking to improve online student performance.

Based on findings from a three-year study of Washington State’s Student Achievement Initiative, this policy brief offers lessons for state leaders seeking to design effective higher education performance funding systems.

In response to a journal article questioning CCRC’s claims about the effectiveness of developmental education, this essay discusses methodological concerns and other issues that may be a source of confusion.

This NCPR working paper outlines the development of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the CCSS-aligned assessments and argues that they can be used to support the mission of community colleges.

Using administrative data from the Virginia Community College System, this paper examines the associations between student success course enrollment and short-term student outcomes.

The first in CCRC's analytics series, this publication examines characteristics of students who drop out of college after only one semester.

This report discusses the development of FastStart, its program features, and student perspectives, and it presents findings from a quantitative analysis of the FastStart math program.

This report makes a series of policy recommendations for strengthening dual enrollment in Tennessee to ensure that the program contributes to Tennessee's college completion goals.