December 06, 2021

An ‘Unbelievable Comeback’

While community colleges across the country continue to struggle with pandemic-related enrollment declines, Spartanburg Community College bucked the trend and saw its student headcount increase. CCRC Senior Research Associate John Fink told Inside Higher Ed that Spartanburg is "an exciting outlier."

December 01, 2021

Stakeholders Assess the State of the Free Community College Movement

The free community college provision was struck from the Build Back Better Bill, which CCRC Director Thomas Brock told Diverse: Issues in Higher Education may have been a blessing in disguise. This story takes stock of where the sector goes from here, especially considering variation in price, funding structure, and college quality in states across the country.

November 30, 2021

2 More Community Colleges Targeted by Ransomware

Butler County Community College in Pennsylvania and Lewis and Clark Community College in Illinois are the latest higher education institutions to become targets of cyberattacks. The costly incidents come at a moment when community colleges are already struggling to make ends meet in the wake of pandemic-related enrollment slides, CCRC Senior Research Scholar Davis Jenkins to Inside Higher Ed.

November 22, 2021

Lagging Behind

Completion rates are disproportionately low at California Community Colleges, and campus leaders are taking steps to boost retention. CCRC Senior Research Scholar Davis Jenkins told Inside Higher Ed that the system "needs to turn around" and develop programs that lead students to a good job or transfer in a field they're interested in.

November 18, 2021

Community Colleges Face Steep Losses in Black Freshmen Enrollment

Community college enrollment rates declined less than last year but remained far below pre-pandemic levels. CCRC Director Tom Brock told Bloomberg News that many of the students who opted out of two-year programs have not simply pivoted away from community college but from higher education altogether.

November 10, 2021

"How Do We Rebuild?" Community Colleges Try to Claw Their Way Back

Community colleges across the country are attempting to rebuild in the wake of pandemic-related challenges and enrollment slides. CCRC Director Thomas Brock told The Chronicle of Higher Education that an extraordinary number of people who hoped to go to a two-year institution changed their plans as a result of COVID-19.

November 09, 2021

Community Colleges in Texas Find Creative Ways Around Decreased Funding in Response to Low Enrollment

The Texas state legislature decreased funding for community colleges that saw enrollment declines in fall 2020—a common plight for institutions in the COVID-19 era. CCRC Director Thomas Brock told Diverse: Issues in Higher Education that these reductions could lead to a downward spiral, as colleges may struggle to meet the needs of students with less funds and cause enrollment to decline further.

October 19, 2021

Lesson Study Could Transform Community College Math Instruction

Campus Technology provides an overview of CCRC's new report on Lesson Study, which describes a mixed-method study of the adapted model’s implementation among community college faculty as well as limited findings on student learning and progression in developmental mathematics.

October 13, 2021

The Effects of COVID on Community Colleges and Students

Community colleges have adapted significantly throughout the course of the pandemic, shifting to online programming, attempting to counteract enrollment slides, and more. CCRC Director Tom Brock described these changes in Affordable Colleges Online, explaining how the two-year sector has changed in the last 18 months and what he thinks may be ahead for community colleges.

October 08, 2021

‘Demographics Are Not Destiny’

A new Brookings report found that community college students enrolled in programs with more underrepresented students earn less and struggle to pay back their student loans. In light of these findings, CCRC Senior Research Scholar Davis Jenkins told Inside Higher Ed that many colleges have programs that lead to well-paying jobs—it's just a matter of steering students toward them.