"Free college" has become a catch phrase for a variety of policy proposals intended to support this national priority. Most free college proposals share important goals: to reduce costs to students and families, to increase the number of college graduates, and to help students acquire skills needed in the workforce. Free college…

State Seals of Biliteracy (SoBL) are a growing trend and present a promising method of serving an increasingly bilingual population. Currently, state SoBLs have been available almost exclusively at the high school level. An Oregon community college initiated the opportunity for students to study and receive the state SoBL in higher education. The…

As the national debate about the prospect of free community college continues, state and local College Promise programs continue to expand with a mix of public and private funding aimed to provide debt-free education to students, usually gaining bipartisan support. Most states aim their programs at full-time students and/or recent high school…

This toolkit is intended to help states create career pathways systems that integrate and expand partnerships between state human service agencies and postsecondary systems and institutions so that more people who want to train for a quality career can do so. Career pathways partnerships can help community colleges and human services work better…

This analytical report responds to the current policy interest in some states in offering "tuition-free college" to income-eligible students attending certain public colleges and universities. In most cases only public two-year colleges are covered, although New York State's Excelsior Scholarship program also covers public four-year…

This article examines the current literature and state legislation of statewide "free tuition" promise programs. The purpose of this paper was to analyze state free community college programs, legislation, scholarly literature, and state websites to understand program structures, funding sources, and student-eligibility requirements. The…

As chairman of Oregon's Senate Education Committee, Mark Hass kept hearing about the growing population of unemployed young adults age 24 and younger who had no education beyond high school. Until now, cost has prevented many high school graduates from even exploring a higher education. Hass is sponsoring a bill that would enable recent high…

In 2012, the Credit When It's Due (CWID) initiative was launched by the Funders Collaborative to "encourage partnerships of community colleges and universities to significantly expand programs that award associate degrees to transfer students when the student completes the requirements for the associate degree while pursuing a bachelor's…

Many states are experimenting with mechanisms for making college more affordable while maintaining quality and access. This report examines promising or innovative state programs to improve college affordability and credential attainment. Many of these approaches show innovative thinking and bear watching to see if they result in meaningful…

Few states have established systems for overseeing dual enrollment programs to encourage institutions to align their practices with quality standards. Five states (Arkansas, Indiana, Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota), have established incentives or requirements for post-secondary concurrent enrollment providers to pursue the National Alliance of…

Describes the development and outcomes of Lane Community College's (LCC) Business Assistance Center, which offers a wide range of management assistance services to local small businesses. Explains how state-funded programs, based on the LCC model, resulted in a network of Small Business Development Centers. (CBC)

While most community and technical colleges individually offer courses by distance learning, they are increasingly challenged to provide the full range of instructional and student support services needed for expanding distance education programs. To address this issue, Washington and Oregon community and technical colleges formed distance…

This report describes a project designed to (1) develop models for use of vocational education data available from the Oregon Management Information System (MIS) to implement decision making at key points in program planning and curriculum development, and (2) design, develop, and test a system to improve the competencies of state and local…

In their 2004 State of the State speeches, the nation's governors cited many issues competing for their attention and their states' resources, including health care, education, crime, and security (Nodine 2004). Among the most compelling challenges were those related to economic development and the ability of a state's workforce to meet the needs…

The organizational and working relationships between postsecondary education and economic development in selected states were investigated, with emphasis on identifying state-level coordinated programs in 12 geographically diverse states known to be active in linking education to economic development (Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Louisiana,…