As more students use community colleges as a gateway to a four-year education, administrators in California are considering a problem that has vexed educators in the state for years: How can one college have such a strong track record of student transfer, while institutions in the same system — sometimes in the same county — […]
Completion Articles
Faculty, Your Secret Weapon for Student Retention
As pressure mounts to improve college completion rates, community colleges are increasingly on the lookout for solutions to an age-old problem: how to keep students from dropping out once they enroll. North Carolina Southwest Community College, located at the western tip of the Tar Heel state, is keeping students engaged through a program that relies […]
Got College? Boosting Higher Ed Attendance Rates
Kathleen Plinske is on a mission. As the president of Osceola and Lake Nona campuses, part of Valencia College in Florida, she wants her campuses to lead the state in college attendance — even if it takes 10 years. Research suggests she’s got her work cut out for her. Osceola County currently ranks 57th out […]
Nation’s Report Card: Math and Reading in Need of Improvement
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 […]
One Degree Not Enough? How About Four in One Day?
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 […]
JCCC Puts New Twist on the Traditional 2×2 Transfer Model
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. […]
Report: Community College Transfers Thrive at Four-Year Colleges
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 […]
Calif. Scorecard Shows Completion in Reverse
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 Governor Wants to Improve Dual-Enrollment Programs
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 […]
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 […]