Now that federal Pell Grant funding has been reinstated for learners who are incarcerated, the field is in flux. Higher education in prison programs and their home institutions, departments of correction, and accreditation and oversight bodies are all adapting and developing their practices to meet new policy and regulation needs. Two major facets…

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is an effective approach for addressing health disparities by integrating diverse knowledge and expertise from both academic and community partners throughout the research process. However, universities and funding agencies have not done enough to invest in the foundational infrastructure and resources…

This study explores the issue of food insecurity within community colleges in Texas and highlights administrator's responses toward best and most promising practices and challenges in addressing food insecurity. The research was guided by complex adaptive systems theory and cynefin. Food insecurity among college students, especially community…

Hispanic-Serving Community Colleges enroll and educate a large share of Hispanic postsecondary students. Due to work trends and demographic changes, Hispanic and other historically underrepresented students play a crucial role in shaping the next generation of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) scholars and practitioners. We use…

More than half of community college students nationwide intend to pursue a four-year degree; however, in Texas only one in four community college students transfer to four-year institutions successfully. Among students who do transfer to a Texas four-year institution, roughly 60 percent go on to graduate with a bachelor's degree. The result is…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to describe reasons Federal Pell Grant-eligible community college students in California do not complete the financial aid process after submitting the FAFSA and the resources they need to complete the process. The conceptual framework of this study was Perna's (2006) multi-layered student…

Metallica's All Within My Hands is a workforce education initiative that provides direct support to community colleges to enhance their career and technical education programs. In 2019, AWMH--alongside initiative sponsor the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)--provided 10 schools with $100,000 each for tuition help, safety gear and…

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…

We explored the impacts of a mathematics prerequisite on student success in Introductory Biology, focusing on students historically underserved in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Specifically, we studied Introductory Biology student outcomes 5 years before and 6 years after adding the prerequisite. Students who had not…

This article compares state expenditure data to see how the operating budgets of public community colleges specifically, and public higher education institutions generally, have fared over the past 30 years. Data from the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) have long tracked major state expenditure categories, including the…

As higher education institutions continue to focus more on equity and allocating resources to serve historically marginalized populations, community colleges in particular have benefited from programs such as the federal Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI) grants to help fund such efforts. One thread…

To help the nation respond to the pandemic, Congress injected about $4.6 trillion into the U.S. economy through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and subsequent legislation. Of this amount, over $75 billion was directed to institutions of higher education through the Higher Education Emergency Relief (HEER) Fund,…

This research study examined the experiences of nontraditional community college students attending through a tuition-free grant. The intent of the study was to explore the student identified barriers to degree persistence and the student support services nontraditional students recognize as being beneficial towards their academic journey. This…

To provide fast and direct economic aid to the American people negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress enacted a series of laws and injected about $4.6 trillion into the U.S. economy. Of this amount, over $75 billion was directed to institutions of higher education through the Higher Education Emergency Relief (HEER) Funds. This…

Place-based initiatives, such as the federal Promise Neighborhoods grant, attempt to coordinate interventions, supports, and services with a myriad of organizations to targeted communities. Although Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs), inclusive of academic medical institutions, are among the most overall researched anchor institution,…