In a year that has upended higher education and created great uncertainty, it is more important than ever for students to understand which colleges payoff and how quickly. In April of 2020, Third Way released a report outlining the use of a Price-to-Earnings Premium (PEP) to evaluate the value of attending college and help students assess and…

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…

The proposed College Affordability Act calls for a massive uptick in federal spending on higher education and increased access to federal student aid (which has been shown to inflate tuition), while easing the criteria for federal loan forgiveness, leaving the bill to American taxpayers. Americans need solutions that will drive down the price of…

While New America's second annual survey about perceptions on higher education shows that Americans believe pursuing education beyond high school is important for career growth and economic security, they still feel that higher education is not fine the way it is, and that government should do more to make it affordable. "Varying Degrees…

College students who are parents or caregivers of dependent children make up more than one in five U.S. undergraduates. Colleges need basic information about the experiences and outcomes of the student parents they serve, since these students face distinct challenges, including high rates of economic insecurity and significant time and caregiving…

This hearing of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions examines reauthorizing the Higher Education Act, focusing on opportunities to improve student success. Following an opening and prepared statement by Honorable Lamar Alexander (Chairman, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions) and an opening statement by Honorable…

The Maine Community College System (MCCS or "System") is comprised of seven colleges, nine campuses, and six off-campus centers that are located within 25 miles of over 90% of Maine's population. The colleges offer one-year certificate and two-year associate degree programs that are designed to lead to direct employment or transfer to a…

The State of Higher Education for Black Californians is the first in the Campaign for College Opportunity's series of reports on the current state of college access and completion for California's Black; Latinx; and Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders. The state of higher education reports also discuss the implications of…

As the Biden-Harris administration seeks to hasten the country's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, reforming the U.S. higher education system to ensure equitable access and attainment for all adults is more important than ever. Most student parents are mothers, students of color, adult and working learners, students with low incomes, and…

College completion rates are stagnant or falling today, particularly among young Americans, a trend that threatens to undermine the nation's global competitiveness and further exacerbate inequality in the nation's income distribution. In the past, efforts to ensure academic quality, access, and student success in higher education have produced…

To prepare American students for lives of high achievement, America's schools need a teaching corps that is not only highly effective but also racially and ethnically diverse. Progress has been made in recent decades in attracting people of color to the teaching profession. But major barriers--including a scarcity of high-quality, teacher-training…

The Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance held a public hearing in Washington DC on Friday last September 30, 2011. Three questions drove the discussion: (1) What are the primary barriers to access and persistence for nontraditional students?; (2) What are the most promising state and institutional strategies and policies for…

Established in 1972, the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) is the national and international voice of Canada's colleges, institutes, cegeps, university colleges, and polytechnics. This report outlines highlights of the Association's activities over the 2009-2010 year. The auditors' report is also included. [For "Association of…

In this article, the author discusses the problems facing Ontario's community colleges' faculty as educators whose "craft" is to teach. The author contends that the problems educators face haven't really been the focus of the three constituencies that have dominated the conversations about the colleges: (1) college management; (2) the…

Latinos are far more likely to begin postsecondary education in community colleges, and in fact roughly 51% are concentrated in this sector. Yet it is well documented that few manage to successfully complete the transition from a two- to a four-year college or university, making transfer the key leakage point in the pathway to the baccalaureate.…