Advocates for marginalized students have worked to understand the equity implications of public policy and its application on educational performance gaps. This study investigated equity policies in a southern California community college intervention program: the Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS). EOPS is an equity program created…

We utilize a difference-in-difference design to examine the effect of adopting a statewide promise program on the enrollment of community college students across socio-economic status. Limited by a small sample size for treated units, we find inferential evidence that the adoption of a state-wide, last-dollar promise program for community colleges…

Postsecondary education enrollment is declining across the United States. The U.S. Department of Education's Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) initiative focuses on increasing the college-going rate of students living in low-income neighborhoods through targeted university-community partnerships (UCPs).…

An estimated five million Americans participate in non-credit college and university classes annually. The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) does not require the reporting of non-credit student postsecondary enrollment, which means there is a lack of data about non-credit higher education. This qualitative case study provides…

Public universities with campuses in urban, low-income neighborhoods have an opportunity and civic responsibility to engage with the K-12 schools, non-profits, and community-based organizations that directly serve their community. However, many community-engaged administrators and scholars are working with limited budgets and without formal…

A collaboration between The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) and the Student Senate for California Community Colleges (SSCCC), this policy brief examines the costs of attending California Community Colleges (CCCs) for low-income students and the roles that financial aid resources, work hours, and student loan borrowing currently…

Children need life-affirming and authentic relationships; genuine deeply felt inclusion comes when we share our humanity openly and honestly. This article draws on the research of author Peter W. Cookson Jr., who recently completed a study of success strategies for educating children living in deep poverty. An inclusive school is one where every…

This study addresses the critical issue of low-income student success at Tri-County Community College (TCCC), with a specific focus on reducing the financial barriers posed by commercial textbooks. Recognizing the disproportionate impact of these costs on low-income students, the study implements an improvement initiative leveraging Open…

Culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) has been a widely utilized framework for educational practice and research (Ladson-Billings, 2014). It is built on the ethics of care, first established in consideration of education among Black youth (Ladson-Billings, 1995). However, applications of CRP to youth physical activity (PA) programs are largely…

Early childhood is an opportune time to begin teaching STEM, and preschool education provides the opportunity. How children experience and respond to STEM in community-based preschools is our focus. Using the CIRCLE classroom observation system, we examined how frequently and in what contexts preschool teachers provided STEM learning…

This study's purpose was to determine whether the use of course-embedded learning assistants compared to sections that did not use course-embedded learning assistants in intermediate algebra courses impacted student performance at a community college. The sample was composed of 5,738 students who were enrolled in an intermediate algebra course…

Policymakers in Texas want to understand the funding levels necessary for community colleges to meet their promise of providing an affordable and accessible pathway to a postsecondary certificate or degree. This study was conducted to help these policymakers better understand the extent to which Texas community colleges had adequate funding to…

Despite decades and hundreds of billions of dollars of federal and state investment in policies to promote postsecondary educational attainment as a key lever for increasing the economic mobility of lower income populations, research continues to show large and meaningful differences in the mid-career earnings of students from families in the…

As communities grapple with the harmful, inequitable effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which have been particularly hard on low-income and marginalized youth, renewed attention has been directed toward how out-of-school time (OST) programs can help youth reconnect and re-engage. In this article, the results of a systematic literature review on the…

Pursuant to California Education Code provisions 17201(i)(1)(B)(C), 17203.5, and 66014.6, the California Community Colleges Student Housing 2024 report provides the following information: (1) the 2024 Annual Progress on California Community Colleges Affordable Student Housing; (2) the 2024 California Community Colleges Housing Insecurity; and (3)…