Early college high schools (ECHS) in North Carolina are small public schools of choice on college campuses that seek to promote attaining postsecondary credits in high school, college readiness, and postsecondary enrollment for underrepresented groups. Evidence from randomized control trial (RCT) has shown positive effects of the ECHS model on…

Early college high schools (ECHSs) in North Carolina are small public schools of choice on college campuses that seek to promote attaining postsecondary credits in high school, college readiness, and postsecondary enrollment for underrepresented groups. Evidence from randomized control trials (RCTs) has shown positive effects of the ECHS model on…

Recent policy efforts have attempted to increase the number of dual enrollment courses offered within Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathways, and there is evidence to suggest that this practice is widespread. However, there is very little research on student participation in CTE dual enrollment and on its impacts. This study examines…

The Association of Public & Land-grant Universities (APLU) launched the "Powered by Publics: Scaling Student Success" initiative in the fall of 2018. The South Eastern Cluster brought together a diverse set of institutions from this region of the country that included several of the larger universities, the North Carolina System…

Community college transfer pathways, whereby students begin their postsecondary enrollment at a 2-year institution, are an increasingly popular option for students looking to complete a bachelor's degree. Designed to increase transfer efficiency, articulation agreements between community colleges and 4-year institutions provide structured pathways…

This correlational study utilized secondary, longitudinal data to examine the extent to which student-influenced and institution-influenced factors predict the academic success and degree completion of engineering transfer students at public four-year institutions in North Carolina. The sample included students who transferred from community…

The future of the workforce requires post-secondary education and the ability to effectively use technology. Technology has become an integral part of education, business, and daily life. Yet, there remains a digital divide for many individuals. Increasingly, community colleges are using technology in the classroom and as part of the processes…

Community colleges enroll a diverse set of students who often face challenges meeting their basic needs. This report describes the potential benefits and costs of one low-cost and relatively light-touch tool that colleges might use to increase students' access to basic needs assistance. The authors focus on the Findhelp platform, which is modeled…

In this commentary, the authors advocate support for the adoption of a universal credential registry. By connecting information about credentials and their value, Credential Engine's registry (CE) creates an ever-expanding atlas of educational possibilities for students. Many registrars, however, have yet to recognize the institutional value of…

Building on a growing literature showing that early college high schools substantially improve educational outcomes, we investigate possible spillover impacts of this intervention on civic outcomes in North Carolina, which houses an early college in most of its counties. We present both lottery and observational impacts on voting and criminal…

Many Virginians aspiring to earn a four-year degree intentionally begin their journey at one of the 23 community colleges within the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). In concert with those aspirations, the VCCS is committed to providing its residents an affordable and accessible program of study that prepares them to transfer and earn a…

Despite the long-standing centrality and growing prevalence of transfer in the American postsecondary system, students, college professionals, and policymakers decry the lack of credit transferability between colleges. However, limited research has examined the factors most related to the magnitude of credit loss students experience. This study…

This brief is part of a broad landscape analysis focused on policy and practice issues related to the recognition of prior learning. The landscape analysis focuses on issues arising in the practice of the recognition of prior learning, policies that encourage or limit its adoption, and key research needs and future directions for the field. The…

Recent policy efforts have attempted to increase the number of dual enrollment courses offered within Career and Technical Education pathways and there is evidence to suggest that this practice is widespread. However, there is very little research on student participation in CTE dual enrollment and on its impacts. This study examines participation…

Community colleges strive to fulfill the unique needs of military service members, veterans and their families, a mission harkening back to wartime and the decades in which the nation's fighters were off the battlefield. Educating the nation's servicemen and women has long been a core undertaking of many community colleges, particularly in regions…