Skip to content
  • Research
  • About Us
  • News
  • Community College FAQs
  • Blog
  • Pandemic Recovery

Focus Areas

  • Dual Enrollment
  • Developmental Education
  • Guided Pathways
  • Advising & Student Supports
  • Teaching & Learning
  • Transfer
  • College to Career
Menu
  • Dual Enrollment
  • Developmental Education
  • Guided Pathways
  • Advising & Student Supports
  • Teaching & Learning
  • Transfer
  • College to Career

Publications Library

CCRC’s complete collection of publications

Presentations

Webinars and conference presentations with CCRC researchers

Guided Pathways Workshops

Materials from our do-it-yourself workshop series

Policy Resources

Our collection of federal policy briefs and fact sheets

  • CCRC Staff
  • Research Affiliates
  • Advisory Board
  • Employment
  • Biennial Report
  • Contact
Menu
  • CCRC Staff
  • Research Affiliates
  • Advisory Board
  • Employment
  • Biennial Report
  • Contact
  • CCRC in the News
  • Opinion
  • Press Releases
Menu
  • CCRC in the News
  • Opinion
  • Press Releases
  • Overview
  • Important Dates
  • FAQs
  • Overview
  • Important Dates
  • FAQs
  • Overview
  • Important Dates
  • FAQs

Catastrophe or Catalyst? Reflections on COVID’s Impact on Community Colleges

By Thomas Brock & Cameron Diwa

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a steep decline in enrollments at community colleges, especially among Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous populations, males, and part-time students. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Acts provided funds for emergency aid and engaging disconnected students, and community colleges moved swiftly to shift services and instruction online. This essay discusses how students and community colleges responded to the pandemic and what their experiences reveal about inequities in higher education. The authors argue that the crisis was worsened by years of underinvestment in these institutions and by entrenched structures and practices that do not address the needs and aspirations of many students. They review evidence on reforms that aim to remake community colleges in ways that improve student outcomes. While COVID-19 can rightly be viewed as a catastrophe, it may also serve as a catalyst for fundamental and lasting improvements in how community colleges are funded, organized, and operated to help more students achieve their goals.

This essay appears in the Journal of Postsecondary Student Success, volume 1, issue 2.

View journal article
December 2021

Related Publications

February 2024

An Analysis of Federal Pandemic Relief Funding at Community Colleges

June 2023

Pandemic Relief Funding for Community Colleges

June 2022

Informed Self-Placement Today: An Exploratory Study of Student Outcomes and Placement Practices

Additional Resources

For more policy briefs and fact sheets, visit CCRC’s Policy Resources page.

  • Our Research
  • About Us
  • News
  • Community College FAQs
  • Blog
  • Pandemic Recovery
  • Our Research
  • About Us
  • News
  • Community College FAQs
  • Blog
  • Pandemic Recovery

Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University
Box 174 | 525 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027

  • 212.678.3091
  • ccrc@columbia.edu

© 2025. All rights reserved.

Facebook-f Twitter Linkedin Youtube Instagram
Join our mailing list
  • Our Research
    • Focus Areas
    • Publications Library
    • Presentations
    • Guided Pathways Workshops
    • Policy Resources
  • About Us
    • CCRC Staff
    • Research Affiliates
    • Advisory Board
    • Employment
    • Biennial Report
    • Contact
  • News
  • Community College FAQs
  • Blog
  • Pandemic Recovery
  • Our Research
    • Focus Areas
    • Publications Library
    • Presentations
    • Guided Pathways Workshops
    • Policy Resources
  • About Us
    • CCRC Staff
    • Research Affiliates
    • Advisory Board
    • Employment
    • Biennial Report
    • Contact
  • News
  • Community College FAQs
  • Blog
  • Pandemic Recovery