Community College Success: Is it a Path to Opportunity? PDF - This issue of Progress of Education Reform looks at the latest research on student success in community colleges and offers insights on the strategies that show the most promise in promoting greater educational attainment for community college students. (Bruce Vandal, The Progress of Education Reform, vol. 9, no. 5, Education Commission of the States, September 2008)...

The Progress of Education Reform: Developmental Education PDF - This issue of The Progress of Education Reform will address the following three questions: 1. What are the challenges that developmental education programs face that affect their success? 2. Are developmental education programs an effective strategy for increasing college attainment rates? 3. How can state policy improve the success of developmental education programs? (ECS, March 2008) ...

The Progress of Education Reform: Economic and Workforce Development PDF - One strategy for addressing the misalignment among postsecondary education, state workforce development programs and state economic development strategies is to create career pathways programs at community colleges where students are able to enroll in a defined track of coursework that leads to jobs in high-demand fields within a state or region. This issue of The Progress of Education Reform reviews four reports developed by the Workforce Strategy Center that make the case for states to implement policies that support the use of career pathways to increase college completion, and contribute to state and regional workforce demand. (Chris Spence, Education Commission of the States, August 2007)...

Community Colleges and Teacher Preparation: Roles, Issues and Opportunities PDF - The role of community colleges in preparing the next generation of teachers in U.S. classrooms continues to evolve. In many states, community colleges are becoming critical leaders in efforts to develop a pool of highly effective teachers for states and regions that have demand which far exceeds supply. The result of a meeting between ECS and the National Center for Teacher Transformation, this paper describes a variety of forces in education policy and reform that are providing an important context to the role of community colleges in teacher education. The paper articulates how community colleges can capitalize on their unique attributes as responsive institutions that serve a diverse population of students to meet critical workforce demand in local and regional communities and positively impact the field of teacher education. (Tricia Coulter and Bruce Vandal, Education Commission of the States, May 2007)...

"They Never Told Me What to Expect, so I Didn't Know What to Do": Defining and Clarifying the Role of a Community College Student - This paper builds on previous work arguing that community college success is dependent not only upon academic preparation but also upon a host of important skills, attitudes, and behaviors that are often left unspoken. Drawing on role theory and on a qualitative study conducted at three community colleges, this paper aims to clarify the role of the community college student and the components of that role that must be enacted for students to be successful. (CCRC, July 2012)...

The Role of Two-Year Institutions in Four-Year Success - For many students, the path to successfully completing a degree at a four-year institution includes enrollment at one or more two-year institutions. This report shows the percentage of students completing degrees at four-year institutions who previously enrolled at two-year institutions. (National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, May 2012)...

Tying Funding to Community College Options: Models, Tools, and Recommendations for States - This brief presents a set of tools that can help states design performance-based funding systems that can influence student and institutional behavior, avoid unintended consequences, and withstand shifts in political and economic climates. (Jobs for the Future, April 2012)...

Interpreting Community College Effects in the Presence of Heterogeneity and Complex Counterfactuals - Community colleges are controversial educational institutions, often said to simultaneously expand college opportunities and diminish baccalaureate attainment. This report finds that enrolling at a community college appears to penalize more-advantaged students who otherwise would have attended four-year colleges. However, enrolling at a community college has a modest positive effect on bachelor’s degree completion for disadvantaged students who otherwise would not have attended college. (California Center for Population Research, March 2012)....

Employer Perceptions of Associate Degrees in Local Labor Markets: A Case Study of the Employment of Information Technology Technicians in Detroit and Seattle - While promoting postsecondary credential completion is a national priority intended to help graduates secure good jobs, the value of credentials in the labor market from the perspective of employers is not well understood. This study provides suggestions on how an understanding of the specific qualities employers expect in credential holders and of the role of the local labor market can help colleges better engage with employers and fine-tune their programs to more effectively meet students' and employer's needs. (CCRC, Feb 2012)...

The Road Ahead: A Look at Trends in the Educational Attainment of Community College Students - This brief presents data on educational attainment at community colleges, with an eye toward what the data portend. One extremely positive conclusion can be reached: Educational attainment for all key populations is increasing at community colleges. The investment made in a community college education, by individuals and by society as a whole, is paying off. (Christopher Mullin, American Association of Community Colleges, October 2011)...

Trends in Community College Education: Enrollment, Prices, Student Aid and Debt Levels - The authors describe the published prices of community colleges and the other expenses students face while enrolled and how these prices vary across states. They also examine institutional revenue sources, the financial aid community college students receive, student debt, and degree completion patterns at two-year public colleges. (College Board, June 2011)...

The Road Less Traveled: Realizing the Potential of Career Technical Education in the California Community Colleges - This report examines four high-wage, high-need career pathways in the California Community Colleges as a basis for exploring the Career Technical Education (CTE) mission and its role in the college completion agenda. The study found that while CTE has the potential to meet the state’s completion, workforce and equity goals, there is a lack of priority on awarding technical certificates and degrees and an absence of clear pathways for students to follow in pursuing those credentials. (Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Policy, February 2011)...

Redesinging Community Colleges for Completion: Lessons from Research on High-Performance Organizations - This paper examines available research on the practices of high-performance organizations and goes on to assess the extent to which community colleges follow these practices. The paper evaluates current reform efforts in light of models of organizational effectiveness that emerge from the research literature. Jenkins goes on to look at research on strategies for engaging faculty and staff in organizational innovation. Finally, the last section recommends concrete steps community college leaders can take to redesign how they manage programs and services to increase rates of student completion. (Davis Jenkins, Community College Research Center, January 2011)...

Turning the Tide: Five Years of Achieving the Dream in Community Colleges - This report examines the first 26 colleges to join Achieving the Dream in 2004 (known as the “Round 1” colleges), and tracks their progress through spring 2009. The key findings are: 1. Four out of five Round 1 colleges adopted practices associated with a moderate to strong culture of evidence; 2. Colleges that made the greatest strides shared several key characteristics; 3. Colleges instituted a wide range of strategies to improve student achievement, but a majority of them remained small in scale; 4. Achieving the Dream had an important influence on most colleges; 5. Trends in student outcomes remained relatively unchanged, with a few exceptions. (MDRC, January 2011)...

Just How Similar? Community Colleges and the For-Profit Sector - This brief illustrates that, while they may offer some of the same educational programs, their missions vary significantly and they serve different populations, resulting in different outcomes. Community colleges work to respond to educational, workforce and community needs. For-profit institutions are often looking toward the bottom line, with accountability to shareholders instead of students. This brief's findings show that apples-to-apples comparisons between the public and for- profit postsecondary institutions are not only limiting, but also can lead to distortions of performance. (Christopher Mullin, American Association of Community Colleges, November 2010)...

Making Connections--Dimensions of Student Engagement, 2009 Findings - The report offers data about the quality of community college students’ educational experiences and describes how institutions across the country are intentionally making connections with students online, in the classroom, on campus and beyond. (Center for Community College Student Engagement, November 2009)...

Getting Back on Track: Effects of a Community College Program for Probationary Students - MDRC's study can help decisionmakers understand the implications of investing in student supports--particularly for underprepared and/or at-risk college students. (Susan Scrivener, Colleen Sommo and Herbert Collado, MDRC, April 2009)...

California Community Colleges: Making Them Stronger and More Affordable - As college access continues to play a critical role in career advancement, California policymakers have tried to provide affordable opportunities in higher education. This report analyzes the effectiveness of these statewide policies in maintaining quality and access. The findings explain that California and its students are lacking substantial funding on both the state and federal levels. New fee policies and better targeted resources are recommended to improve student access, achievement, and affordability. (Deborah Frankle and William Zumeta, The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, March 2007)...

Stepping Stones to a Degree: The Impact of Enrollment Pathways and Milestones on Older Community College Student Outcomes - This report presents findings from a study of the experiences and outcomes of older and younger community college students, comparing the impact of enrollment pathways (such as remediation) and enrollment milestones (such as attaining a certain number of credits) on educational outcomes of older students – those who entered college for the first time at age 25 or later – with those of traditional-age students. Results suggest that reaching milestones such as obtaining 20 credits or completing 50% of a program is a more important positive factor affecting graduation probabilities for younger students than it is for older students. Although enrollment in remedial courses decreases the odds of graduating for all students, older students who enroll in remediation are less negatively affected than are younger ones who do the same. Also available is a report summary. (Juan Carlos Calcagno, Peter Crosta, Thomas Bailey and Davis Jenkins, Teachers College, October 2006)...

A Whole ’Nother World Students Navigating Community College - Community colleges' lower cost, more convenient location and flexible admissions standards make them an attractive educational alternative for many students, especially those from low-income and disadvantaged backgrounds. Yet, persistence toward degrees among community college students is low. Family responsibilities, poor academic performance and weak ties to faculty and other students get in the way of students’ educational aspirations. This study asked students at two community colleges about the factors that affect their ability to persist in community college. Key findings include: (1) many younger students reported they attended college largely to please their parents and did not feel a strong personal motivation, while many students between 21 and 25 said they enrolled to escape low-wage work and ultimately provide a higher standard of living for their families; (2) parenting responsibilities often interfered with their ability to study and attend class using a traditional schedule; (3) making friends in college was only marginally important. (Alissa Gardenhire-Crooks, Herbert Collado and Barbara Ray, MDRC, July 2006) ...

Act On Fact Using Data To Improve Student Success - This report examines the results of a survey asking questions about institutional practices and student behaviors that are highly correlated with student learning and retention. Results include national benchmarks and institutional benchmark scores for five key areas of engagement: active and collaborative learning, student effort, academic challenge, student-faculty interaction and support for learners. (Community College Survey of Student Engagement, 2006) ...