NC Reconnect, an effort of the John M. Belk Endowment (JMBE), aims to engage or reengage adult learners over the age of 25 in North Carolina's community colleges to bridge the postsecondary education attainment gap and improve economic mobility within the state. This paper applies the Five P Framework to examine processes at 15 community colleges…

This article examines how states and community colleges can streamline the transfer process through an innovative national program known as Interstate Passport. The program enables block transfer of lower-division general education attainment based on a set of learning outcomes rather than on individual courses and credits. The article shows how…

This chapter illustrates the potential promise and complexities of free college initiatives from the perspective of administrators, faculty, staff, and students who are involved in a scholarship program at a small Midwestern community college. Based on two waves of interviews conducted in 2019 and 2021 respectively, we found that, while largely…

This chapter describes the challenges and practical barriers community colleges face when implementing comprehensive reform, exploring how reforms are leading to some improvements but not often scaled improvements.

This chapter describes the process and challenges of implementing a civic engagement graduation requirement at Kingsborough Community College.

This chapter offers strategies for creating support resources for students who face nonacademic barriers such as housing insecurity, food insecurity, lack of transportation and dependable childcare, and the need for mental health care and illness. These strategies should be viewed as ideas to help retain students and create lasting partnerships…

Policy, financial, and transportation barriers have limited participation in dual enrollment for marginalized (low-socioeconomic, first-generation, and ethnic minority) students in Oklahoma. This chapter presents a collaborative effort by education and community leaders that has successfully eliminated these barriers and increased the number of…

This chapter argues that, despite intentions, the way federal financial aid policy is constructed and currently administered can have negative consequences for poor community college students.

This chapter discusses the "tangled knot" of articulating associate degrees in applied fields and reviews sample programs from applied associate (A.A.S.) to baccalaureate degrees using three distinct pathways, comparing the resulting A.A.S. to baccalaureate degree pathways to similar B.A. or B.S. programs. It focuses predominantly on curricular…

This chapter identifies some of the challenges facing the applied and workforce baccalaureate. The authors believe that it is important to discuss potential challenges regarding mission, institutional identity, and faculty for college leaders, practitioners, and policy makers to address when seeking to create or maintain applied and workforce…

Although many of the issues facing community colleges are similar, rural community colleges face additional leadership challenges due to limited resources, geographic isolation, and static economies. This chapter focuses on the impact of location on the interpretation and development of the leadership competencies. The chapter concludes with…