Established in the 1920s, the Education Policy Center (EPC) is the oldest center or institute at The University of Alabama. Our work centers on four interrelated areas: (a) access and finance of public higher education, (b) college completion, (c) Pell Grants, and (d) rural community colleges. As place-based institutions with service delivery…

The $17.2 million Rural Community College Initiative (RCCI) demonstration grant program funded by the Ford Foundation which ran from 1994 to 2001 represents the largest philanthropic project specifically aimed at rural community colleges in United States history. While a good deal of literature has been published about this initiative, much was…

This article reviews recent literature on student financial aid as a retention tool at community colleges. Enrollment and tuition data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), and federal direct grant student aid data from the IPEDS Student Financial Aid Survey are used to…

This work brings forward the geographically-based classification scheme for the public Master's Colleges and Universities sector. Using the same methodology developed by Katsinas and Hardy (2005) to classify community colleges, this work classifies Master's Colleges and Universities. This work has four major findings and conclusions. First, a…

Evidence clearly points to the presence of intercollegiate athletics at the early junior colleges established prior to World War I. Moving into more current times, the authors find among prominent reasons for institutional involvement with athletics giving students a "true college experience," expanding access, recruiting a more diverse student…

Many rural community colleges have long provided on-campus housing. This article profiles the availability of housing at rural community colleges in 2001-2002 and 2005-2006, examines the factors that will continue to make on-campus housing an important service at rural institutions, and draws on 2005-2006 data from the Institutional…

Although most community colleges do not have on-campus housing, many rural two-year colleges do. Relying on federal institutional survey data, this chapter discusses issues related to the operation of residence halls and implications for both students and rural community college leaders. The chapter concludes with recommendations for policy and…

Community colleges in all areas of the country offer students opportunities for postsecondary education that they might not otherwise have. The nearly 600 community colleges that serve rural communities play a special role in providing access, one that the author believes deserves greater understanding and recognition. He shares some of what he…

This article uses the 2005 Basic Classifications of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a framing device through which to examine patterns of student financial aid at America's rural community colleges, which represent 64% of all U.S. community colleges. Rural community colleges serve more first-time, full-time students than…

This chapter describes rural community colleges, compares them to their urban and suburban counter-parts, and highlights the unique challenges they face in the twenty-first century. (Contains 4 tables.)

Title III, the Strengthening Institutions Program, is one of the most important federal programs for rural community colleges. Created by the Higher Education Act of 1965, Title III provides institutional aid to qualified colleges and universities that serve large numbers of first-generation, low-income students and students from groups…

Discusses the seriousness of the digital divide-the discrepancy between technology-literate and -illiterate people-in rural areas in the United States. Reports that rural young, minority, and single-parent households lag behind the national average in both personal computer ownership and Internet access. Offers suggestions for ways rural community…

This document argues that for the 1.8 million students attending the 731 rural community colleges in the United States, the community college is often the only option for higher education. However, both access and excellence for rural students are being negatively impacted by recent federal and state policy that has decreased funding to community…

The most widely accepted classification system of institutions of higher education, the Carnegie system, does not provide any sub-groupings for the category of two-year institutions. This lack of precision has inhibited the understanding of the diversity among and between community colleges, their missions, functions, curricula, students, and…