Research points to an age disparity in college completion, with adult community college students (ages 25 years and older) being less likely to complete postsecondary credentials than their younger peers. However, research also demonstrates that adult community college students are more likely to report educational goals that do not culminate in a…

Students 25 years of age and older comprise one-third of the population in public two-year institutions, and these students face significant disadvantages in first-year retention and eventual graduation. Successfully passing college math and college English are important steps for adult students in building momentum toward a degree. Classroom…

Community colleges serve nearly half of all undergraduates, including a disproportionate share of African American and Hispanic students, and are a key point of access to higher education for students who face socioeconomic disadvantages or other obstacles to participation in higher education. Community colleges stand to play a pivotal role in…

This study investigates community college skills builders--students who enroll for a short time, take courses concentrated in career and technical education (CTE), are highly successful in their coursework, but typically leave college without a postsecondary credential. Drawing on administrative data from Colorado, Ohio, Michigan, and California,…

Objective: Community colleges have considerable potential to grow the number of individuals who complete STEM baccalaureate degrees and to broaden access to educational opportunities in STEM. However, efforts to tap this potential have been hampered by nagging questions about whether community colleges prepare students adequately for advanced STEM…

In this chapter, we discuss changes in the age structure of the labor force, the need for continued skill upgrading over the life course to remain employable, patterns of participation in adult learning and development activities, and the role community colleges play in providing education and training to middle-aged and older adults. In an…

This qualitative study of students in mid- and later-life (MLL; age 40 and older) sought to address the role faculty play in facilitating student success and how institutions support faculty, especially adjunct faculty. Adjunct faculty teach a majority of classes at community colleges but are not provided the same professional development…

Federal, state, and local initiatives have encouraged education and training providers to build stackable credentials, a series of postsecondary credentials that can be earned over time and that build on each other to prepare individuals for different needs for knowledge and skills throughout a career. By offering flexible pathways that allow…

To remain competitive in the labor market, many middle-aged and older adults need to upgrade existing or learn new skills through occupational training and education. Furthermore, as compared with the past, employers now are more willing to hire older workers after completing a credential due to a low unemployment rate. Moreover, employers often…

Objective: Standardized placement tests remain the primary means by which new community college students are assessed and placed in the hierarchy of math and English coursework. A growing body of evidence indicates that placement tests tend to underestimate students' likelihood of achieving passing grades in college-level courses, leading to…

To remain competitive in the labor market, many middle-aged and older adults need to upgrade existing or learn new skills through occupational training and education. Furthermore, as compared with the past, employers now are more willing to hire older workers after completing a credential due to a low unemployment rate. Moreover, employers often…

Our understanding of community college pathways to baccalaureate degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) is remarkably incomplete, despite growing recognition of the sizeable role that community colleges stand to play in increasing the number of students who enter STEM baccalaureate programs, particularly underrepresented…

This paper discusses the result of a statewide research effort in California to improve the accuracy of student placement in math and English in the California Community College system. We apply decision tree methods to high school and college transcript data to identify key measures of high school achievement that predict success in ten levels of…

In this study, I draw on longitudinal data for 1.1 million students in California to estimate the effects of community college credentials on students' earnings, as compared with students who are not awarded a credential. In contrast to much of the recent work on this subject, which assumed that the effects of credentials on students' earnings are…

Recent years have seen growing recognition of the importance of a college-educated workforce to meet the needs of employers and ensure economic growth. Lifelong learning, including completing a postsecondary credential, increasingly is necessary to improve employment outcomes among workers, both old and young, who face rising demands for new and…