Here are three reports to know about this month: 1. Undergraduate enrollments seem to have stabilized this fall — including at community colleges — and there’s been an uptick among freshmen, with public two-year colleges seeing the biggest bump, according to final fall enrollment data from the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) Research Center. In fall […]
Advocacy and Funding Articles
Washington Watch: FY23 community college earmarks
Community colleges across the country will receive millions of dollars in additional designated funding from the federal government as a part of Congress’ fiscal year (FY) 2023 omnibus appropriations package passed late last month and just signed into law by President Joe Biden. Nearly $183 million of community project funding — formerly known as earmarks […]
Growing alumni engagement
Alumni can help colleges’ fundraising and recruitment efforts. They also can serve as mentors to current students. And the good news is that alumni are “increasingly interested in connecting with their alma maters,” according to results of a survey by Anthology. The survey includes responses from 2,365 college and university alumni. Nearly 400 (17%) of […]
$1B Build Back Better Regional Challenge projects include community college partners
The Biden administration on Friday announced the 21 selected regional economic development projects that will receive funding through the $1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge. Most of the projects include state community college systems or individual two-year colleges among their partners. Funded by the American Rescue Plan and administered by the U.S. Commerce Department’s […]
A deeper look at public opinion of higher ed
Public Agenda and USA Today recently released extensive public opinion research results that reflect some competitive edges for community colleges, amidst broader and substantial concerns about the value and affordability of college. The data may offer useful insights for community college leaders. The research explores a number of topics and reveals complex views about higher […]
‘Empowering voices the world needs to hear’
In her blog post on June 15, 2021, in which she announced awards going to 286 community-serving organizations, philanthropist MacKenzie Scott wrote, “The headline I would wish for this post is “286 Teams Empowering Voices the World Needs to Hear.” Scott has awarded two rounds of billions of unrestricted grants to selected nonprofits, including community […]
Answering the call for OER
When the state began to push back against college textbook prices, Ohio colleges and universities got innovative. In 2017, “We were seeing in Ohio an atmosphere where the public was attacking higher ed textbook costs,” said Jack Hershey, president and CEO of the Ohio Association of Community Colleges (OACC) during a session at the AACC […]
Building a solid foundation
When Sauk Valley Community College was founded in 1965, the Sauk Valley College Foundation was simultaneously established alongside it as an independent 501(c)(3). The college’s founders had the foresight to know that philanthropy would be critical to building a college-going culture in the rural northwestern Illinois community it served. By the time David Hellmich became […]
Workforce development needs more support
To figure out how to develop a robust workforce pipeline, especially as businesses struggle post-Covid to find skilled workers, it makes sense to look at what’s preventing people from enrolling in programs that provide the skills for those jobs. Take the situation of Victoria Browning, a student at the Community College of Aurora (CCA) in […]
More funding for community colleges, students
The Biden administration on Thursday announced funding and other initiatives to support community colleges and their students, as well additional guidance on using previously awarded Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds. Continuing the Biden administration’s focus on community colleges, U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and First Lady Jill Biden on Thursday visited Bergen Community College in […]