Community and technical colleges in Washington state were early adopters in the growing trend to offer bachelor's degrees, actively expanding these degrees over the last 15 years. This study describes the evolving state policy landscape on community college baccalaureate (CCB) degrees in Washington in certain programs previously classified as…

Washington State is experiencing substantial growth in the number of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) Community College Baccalaureate (CCB) programs. Student enrollments in STEM CCB programs are also growing, providing an opportune time to study these students and their enrollment in and completion of STEM CCB programs. This…

Nationally, student debt has doubled between 2009 and 2019 and is now hovering around $1.7 trillion. The impact that student debt financing is having on borrowers of color is harmful and unsustainable. It is also widening the already significant racial wealth gap. The pandemic is likely to only exacerbate these inequities as people of color and…

The bulk of previous research on students' perceptions of open educational resources have lacked a control group of students rating traditional textbooks. Moreover, few studies have examined differences in the perceptions of online students and those taking classes in the classroom. A 2 × 2 cross-sectional design was used in which 925 students,…

When authorizing community colleges to offer baccalaureate degrees in 2007 the legislature intended for these degrees to serve students enrolled in professional-technical education. This report explores the extent to which programs serve the intended population, how demographics relate to program enrollment, and enrollment shifts over time.…

Financial aid is an ever-growing topic of interest to researchers as well as policymakers in understanding the impact and relationship to student success. Aid comes in many forms, from merit-based or need-based scholarships and grants, loans, tuition waivers, and other. Federal and state aid programs alike are typically designed to assist students…

Spring 2020 marked the onset of one of the most tumultuous eras in recent memory. The rapid spread of COVID-19 wreaked havoc on communities across the globe, and in the U.S., the epicenter of the outbreak was located in Washington State. Beyond the immediate concerns around personal health and safety, COVID-19 produced a host of other issues that…

Substance use is a frequently cited health risk behavior in the youth gang literature, yet little is known about how substance use patterns vary among gang-involved youth or the social ecological factors that contribute to potential variation. Developing relevant and effective service approaches will require an understanding of this variation and…

Washington State has two educational goals for 2023: all adults aged 25-44 in Washington State will have a high school diploma or equivalent, and at least 70 percent will have a postsecondary credential. This paper examines the demographic characteristics of those Washingtonians with "some college, no degree" who are not currently…

The Opportunity Grant (OG) program is the Washington community and technical college system's dedicated financial aid program designed to help low-income students enroll in and complete programs leading to high-wage, high-demand careers. Washington's Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) program is a nationally recognized model…

Using a dataset containing nearly 500,000 courses taken by over 40,000 community and technical college students in Washington State, this study examines the performance gap between online and face-to-face courses and how the size of that gap differs across student subgroups and academic subject areas. While all types of students in the study…

This study tests the predictive associations between externalizing behaviors and internalizing symptoms and examines the mediating roles of social competence, parent-child conflicts, and academic achievement. Using youth-, parent-, and teacher-reported longitudinal data on a sample of 523 boys and 460 girls from late childhood to early…

Due to the decrease in public funding, community colleges are in a position where they need to generate private gifts. Alumni represent the largest untapped pool of prospective donors, and the success of alumni giving at 4-year institutions illustrates the potential that exists for community colleges. To develop effective fundraising strategies,…

We use a unique longitudinal sample of student teachers ("interns") from six Washington state teacher training institutions to investigate patterns of entry into the teaching workforce. Specifically, we estimate split population models that simultaneously estimate the impact of individual characteristics and student teaching experiences…

One of the most fundamental drivers of change at the nation's community colleges is enrollment. This paper examines the enrollment patterns of community colleges across five different regions of the country. It illustrates how changing populations will affect the demographic make-up of the student body for each state.