The conventional 15 credits per semester may be the path to completion for some community college students but it’s not that way for all. While students fresh out of high school probably benefit from full-time enrollment in college, a recent national study shows that non-first-time (NFT) students find more success when they can combine both […]

The reason many high-achieving community college students don’t transfer to competitive four-year institutions is not because they lack the ability or desire but because they don’t have the resources and support. So says a recent report from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, which awards college scholarships to high-achieving low-income students. The January 2015 report, Breaking Down Walls: Increasing Access […]

More often than not, improving student success at community colleges requires institutional culture change, if not outright transformational change. A recent report shines a light on nine community colleges that are in the midst of making major changes in their quest to seriously move the needle on student completion. Policy Meets Pathways: A State Policy […]

In 2011, California’s 112 community colleges were at capacity and budgets were shrinking. Instead of focusing on the problem, the California Community Colleges Board of Governors asked for a solution — one that would increase student success while maintaining access. That solution seems to be working. According to the recently released California Community Colleges 2014 State of […]

Paying for tuition is a struggle for many community college students. Unfortunately, major college expenses don’t end with tuition: Textbooks can cost upward of $600 each semester. For students who are already financially tapped out, textbook costs can be the reason they drop out. McHenry County College (MCC) in Crystal Lake, Ill., doesn’t want the high […]

Almost two decades ago, the proverbial writing was on the wall for Texas higher-education officials. Student demographics in public K-12 were dramatically changing, with the share of minorities and low-income students rising quickly. Traditionally, these populations have been underserved in the state’s higher-education system. “We were aware that the future of Texas was going to […]

Administrators and educators at community colleges across the nation are creating innovative and effective programs to improve student completion and success rates. However, those efforts would likely be more successful if college and state leaders moved out of their respective silos and began working together, according to Policy Meets Pathways, A State Policy Agenda for Transformational Change, a […]

Natalie J. Harder, chancellor of South Louisiana Community College (SLCC), was surprised to learn why many students weren’t completing their associate degrees in two years: Students thought taking 12 credits per semester was enough to reach the academic finish line. In fact, students need to average 15 credits per semester to finish an associate degree in four […]

A private university opening satellite campuses at community colleges might seem a bit odd. But Brandman University, a private nonprofit institution based in Irvine, Calif., has a long history of serving working, nontraditional students similar to those who attend community colleges. This month, the university opened its fifth satellite campus at a community college, giving […]

Students get discouraged if they have to complete multiple semesters of remedial education or need to take courses that won’t count toward a college degree. Discouraged students often veer off their academic course. The 13-college Colorado Community College System (CCCS) recently launched a pair of initiatives that attempt to address these issues. A developmental redesign […]