Historically underserved and minoritized students are more likely to thrive when they are supported and led by diverse faculty and staff. In 2019, leaders of the country's largest higher education system, California Community Colleges, recognized wide gaps in representation: 52% of 2.1 million students identified as underrepresented minorities,…

When Vicky Wood came to Washington State Community College as president in 2017, the college was investing limited resources in efforts to improve student success. Dr. Wood brought on a new leadership team, which has engaged faculty and staff throughout the college in making substantial changes to organizational practice and culture with the goal…

In March of 2020, the COVID-19 global pandemic fundamentally altered almost all aspects of daily life as people around the world grappled with a public health emergency, as well as unprecedented economic and social consequences. COVID-19's impact on schools, colleges, and universities was far-reaching, forcing institutions to rethink their…

The Latino and Adult Student Success (LASS) Academy is a multi-year initiative administered by CAEL (the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning) focused on supporting Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) in their efforts to improve outcomes for adult and Latino adult learners. In its first phase, from 2018 through 2021, the LASS Academy…

Two years ago, Community College Research Center (CCRC) published a guide to help college leaders understand the costs involved in implementing guided pathways reforms. The guide was based on research at six community colleges, but only one of these was a smaller college. Small colleges lack economies of scale that can generate revenue to support…

Investing in community colleges is a central part of the Biden administration's education agenda, with the goal of strengthening America's middle class and opening the benefits of education to all Americans. CCRC has conducted 25 years of research on how community colleges can more effectively educate students and set them up to successfully…

Guided pathways reforms can take several years to implement at scale because they require a thoroughgoing redesign of a college's major functions, including: (1) organizing programs into career-focused meta-majors to enhance student recruitment and exploration and program improvement; (2) mapping clear paths to degrees, employment, and further…

"While community college enrollment has generally declined by about 2 or 3 percent annually in recent years--due to some extent to the improving economy--some colleges have bucked the trend" (Ashford 2015). What made the difference? Like many community colleges, College of DuPage has been concerned with access and affordability. The…

This guide is intended to help community college leaders understand the costs involved in implementing guided pathways reforms and develop plans for funding and sustaining them. It is based on research at six institutions that have implemented large-scale changes based on the guided pathways model, which focuses on supporting students to enter and…

What works to increase Latino student success in higher education? Since 2005, "Excelencia" in Education has led the only national effort to recognize evidence-based practices that accelerate Latino student success in higher education through Examples of "Excelencia." Through this process, "Excelencia" recognizes…

The main purpose of this planning tool is to help community colleges facilitate productive conversations and develop systemwide plans to raise student completion rates substantially. The planning tool is initially targeted at colleges participating in the Completion by Design initiative. Based on these colleges' experiences and feedback, the…

Currently, a majority of two-year colleges in the United States are located in rural areas. Small, rural-serving community colleges are instrumental to the survival of the communities they reside in, as well as vital to the stakeholders they serve. How does being a rural community college present specialized challenges and in what ways do the…

As the nation prepares to meet President Obama's goal of eight million new college graduates by 2020, the transfer process--the pathway between community colleges and four-year institutions--will take on an increasingly vital role. For many four-year colleges and universities, however, this pathway is uncharted territory. To help clear a path,…

California's education system--the largest in the United States--is an essential resource for ensuring strong economic growth in the state. The Career Technical Education Pathways Initiative (referred to as the Initiative in this report), which became law in 2005, brings together community colleges, K-12 school districts, employers, organized…

For over 30 years, researchers and practitioners have identified challenges unique to small, rural community colleges. The purpose of this study was to examine the distinctive problems facing rural community colleges today and the challenges those institutions must address to fulfill their mission in rural America. There are 5 current challenges…