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 […]
Completion Articles
Can Community College Attendance Stem Dropout Rates?
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 […]
Reverse Transfer: A Problem of Tracking
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 […]
MOOCs: Fad or Future?
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 […]
More Two-Year Colleges Offering Bachelor’s Degrees
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 […]
American Honors Changes the Game for Transfer Students
At first blush, there’s nothing terribly groundbreaking about the American Honors (AH) program. Like other community college honors initiatives, AH essentially picks the low-hanging fruit, providing counseling and additional academic services for talented community college students who boast a high probability of academic success. Students who are accepted into AH pay a slightly higher tuition […]
The Quest for the Perfect College Transfer Agreement
There’s nothing groundbreaking about articulation agreements between two-year colleges and four-year universities. Institutions of higher education have long partnered to create a seamless pathway for community college students interested in using their two-year educations as a springboard to four-year degrees. But as a new partnership between Pennsylvania’s Montgomery County Community College and the private Drexel […]
N.Y. Volunteer Firefighters Get Free Tuition
Community colleges are often cast as launching pads for successful careers. But as volunteer firefighters in New York recently found out, sometimes it’s the career that leads to college. In an effort to recruit more volunteer firefighters, the Fireman’s Association of the State of New York (FASNY) launched the Higher Education Learning Plan (HELP) [PDF]. […]