Dual enrollment--in which students take college credit-bearing courses when still in high school--is becoming increasingly popular. Community college programs account for about 70% of the dual enrollment that more than one million high school students participate in each year nationwide. Yet dual enrollment can be a big financial burden for…

In this article, researchers from the Community College Research Center reflect on what they have learned from their study of Guided Pathways reforms at over 100 colleges nationally since the publication in 2015 of "Redesigning America's Community Colleges." They examine five areas of practice: (1) program design; (2) new student…

This guide presents examples and instructions for data analyses colleges can conduct to better understand student enrollments and completions in particular programs. Such analyses can help colleges scrutinize representation of historically marginalized groups in programs leading to greater opportunity after graduation. There is an equity…

Dual enrollment equity pathways (DEEP) is a research-based framework for rethinking dual enrollment as a more equitable on-ramp to college programs of study that lead to family-supporting, career-path jobs for students who might not otherwise pursue education after college. The DEEP approach involves community colleges and K-12 schools partnering…

Community college transfer students encounter challenges progressing toward a bachelor's degree, leading to widespread transfer credit loss. This in turn may lower students' chances of credential completion and increase the time and costs for students, their families, and taxpayers. In this study we review three definitions of credit transfer…

Dual enrollment (DE), in which high school students take college courses and earn both high school and college credit, has great potential to help make the high-school-to-college transition more effective and equitable--and to do so on a large scale. There is strong evidence that DE improves academic outcomes for students, including completing…

Objective: This study develops an analytical framework for identifying effective partnerships between 2- and 4-year institutions that enable community college entrants to transfer to a 4-year institution and earn a bachelor's degree in a timely fashion. Method: Using the individual term-by-term college enrollment and degree records from the…

As community colleges across the country implement large-scale reforms to improve student success, they need timely and actionable metrics to determine if the changes they are making in a given year or term will likely improve student outcomes in the long run. In this brief, the authors examine how well nine measures of students' progress in their…

Since the publication of "Redesigning America's Community Colleges" (Thomas Bailey, Shanna Smith Jaggars, and Davis Jenkins) in 2015, guided pathways reform has become a national movement in community colleges. As of spring 2018, more than 250 community colleges have committed to undertaking large-scale guided pathways reforms as part of…

While many students who start at a community college intend to transfer and complete a bachelor's degree, most of them are not successful. One of the impediments to improving outcomes for these students has been the lack of widely available measures of institutional effectiveness in serving transfer students. In the publication "Tracking…

Among state community college systems, the 13 community colleges under the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) are probably the furthest along in implementing guided pathways reforms. All 13 colleges are implementing what they call "Tennessee completion practices"--reforms to help students choose, enter, navigate, and complete programs that…

With their "open door" admissions policies and lower tuition, community colleges offer a gateway to higher education for millions of American students. Indeed, students who enter higher education through community colleges are much more likely than those who start at four-year institutions to be low-income or the first in their family to…

Guided pathways reforms require colleges to rethink how they teach and support students. The case studies in Part 2 of this practitioner packet examine how colleges at the forefront of these reforms are transforming their programs and support services by implementing three key guided pathways practices: (1) meta-majors (clusters of programs in…

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe practices of 2- and 4-year institutional partnerships effective in supporting transfer student success. Method: Using student records from the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) for the entire 2007 fall cohort of first-time-in-college community college students nationwide, researchers…

Texas relies heavily on its community colleges to provide low-cost access to undergraduate coursework for students pursuing a bachelor's degree. Yet, while the majority of Texas students who enter higher education through a community college enroll in transfer programs, only 35 percent transfer and only 15 percent earn a bachelor's degree within…