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,…

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…

Student Enrollment Management (SEM) leaders continually challenge their teams and institutions to implement changes to student systems and processes. Often, these efforts do not go as planned. As institutions scramble to increase enrollments, streamline workflows, and improve the student experience, their success depends on their ability to manage…

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…

This qualitative investigation of the experiences of faculty of color at community colleges identifies current conditions for this population and suggests potentials for ameliorating conditions that inhibit their job satisfaction. We argue that the current conditions for faculty of color, based upon their expressed experiences at the community…

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…

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,…

The community college is one of the most diverse institutions of higher learning in regards to the make-up of its student population. However, with such a large representation of diversity within its student population, the community college has not been as successful in diversifying the community college presidency. The purpose of this…

This document outlines Howard Community College's (HCC) six strategic initiatives and goals. Each of the strategic initiatives is presented, along with a context for the statement and a list of goals to be achieved in support of the overall initiative. First, HCC will be a learning community that provides possibilities for learning that address…

In August 1987, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) sponsored a Wingspread Conference on the problem of recruitment and retention of minority students into teaching. Conference invitees were asked to comment on a draft of an AACTE policy paper suggesting legislative strategies to recruit more minorities into the…

Reviews recent data on community college personnel, arguing that little progress has been made in terms of institutional diversity. Proposes three facilitating activities for increasing diversity: identifying and targeting gatekeepers, or individuals who control recruitment and hiring; implementing clear and effective processes; and rewarding…

More than half of entering community college students lack the basic skills required to do college-level academic work. Blacks, Hispanics, and American Indians disproportionately rely on community colleges as their point of initial access to higher education, making the issue of preparation inherently tied to factors of race and ethnicity. In some…

A year-long project was undertaken at Solano Community College, in California, to establish a well organized and planned program to recruit and retain underrepresented faculty and staff, utilizing funds from a Faculty and Staff Diversity grant from the California Community Colleges' Office of the Chancellor. The first step was the formation of a…

Warns that, without careful planning and implementation, marketing can bring about unwanted changes that result in stress within the institution and between the institution and the community. States that marketing must be an integral part of long-range planning and directly related to the goals of the college. (DD)