According to a popular national assessment, America’s twelfth-graders have not made significant progress in math and reading over the past four years, despite a renewed focus on college preparation. The latest version of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), often called the Nation’s Report Card, tracked math and reading test results for more than […]

It’s commencement season — and if you’re a community college dean or president, you know that few moments compare to handing students their hard-earned diplomas. For all the talk about completion and metrics, there is no finer validation of success than watching the members of your latest graduating class walk across the stage. If it […]

Talk about the fast track to success. A new accelerated-learning program at Johnson County Community College in Kansas gives nontraditional students an opportunity to complete college courses in half the time. Called Two x 2 x 2, the initiative allows students to take two classes, two nights a week, twice a semester for two years. […]

With the growing emphasis on transfer programs at community colleges, there’s been a lot of debate about the success rates of students who make the jump from two-year to four-year colleges. According to the findings of one study, which we reported on earlier this week, transfer students who earn their associate degree before moving on […]

Two steps forward, one step back. Perhaps that’s the lesson coming out of California in recent days. A scorecard system used to gauge the progress and success of community colleges across the state — 112  in all — shows a 2.6 percent decline in completion rates. While that’s hardly the news administrators were hoping for […]

Ohio Gov. John Kasich wants students in his state to pursue a college education. That’s why he’s encouraging more of them to get started early — while they’re still in high school. Dual-enrollment arrangements between local high schools and community colleges have been around for a while. But as a 2013 audit by the Ohio […]

As editor of the 21st-Century Center, much of my time is spent scouring the Internet for information that community college leaders can use as they think about ways to conduct reforms on campus. In any given week, I come across probably a dozen stories or facts or statistics that I might consider sharing with you […]

In 2012, Michigan passed an education funding bill that required the state’s 15 public universities to participate in reverse-transfer programs with at least three of the state’s community colleges by January 2013. The legislation was widely hailed as well intentioned: As the focus on campuses shifted from access to success, transfer students needed a way […]

By now, we’ve all heard about the power and supposed promise of massive open online courses, or MOOCs, as they’re called. If you’re like a lot of educators, you’re probably sick of hearing about it. I can’t blame you. Two years ago, big thinkers and technology entrepreneurs, including Bill Gates, hailed MOOCs as one of […]

It used to be simple: Students who attended community colleges earned associate (two-year) degrees or professional certificates. If they wanted to pursue bachelor’s degrees, students transferred to a four-year institution. For years, this was one — if not the — key differentiator between the two predominant higher education systems. But as employer demand for graduates […]