The Maine Community College System provides this letter in accordance with 20-A MRSA §10013. This law requires the Maine Community College System (MCCS), University of Maine System (UMS), and Maine Maritime Academy (MMA) to provide the following information about first-generation college students: (1) Data regarding enrollment of first-generation…

Although community colleges contribute to STEM education and the workforce in a variety of ways, it is impossible to determine how much they contribute--or to assess the effectiveness of policies and programs designed to strengthen STEM education in community colleges--without agreement on what constitutes STEM. In this report, the authors review…

We compiled the first longitudinal data set with detailed state funding information to examine whether different funding strategies for public higher education correlate with college access and completion, with a focus on outcomes among racially minoritized students. We found no relationships between funding mechanisms and student outcomes at…

Over the years, students gained new skills, making them more productive workers, by studying at America's community colleges. Today, millions of these former students are employed in the U.S. The accumulated impact of former students currently employed in the U.S. workforce amounted to $898.5 billion in added income for the U.S. economy in fiscal…

Although diverse patterns of college enrollment have gained attention in recent years, few studies have looked at students who take courses at four-year and two-year colleges simultaneously. Using a propensity score matching approach to compare outcomes of four-year college students who earned up to 10 credits at two-year colleges, termed…

In alignment with Vision 2030, the Economic and Workforce Development (EWD) Program serves as a fundamental tool for meeting the goals of equity in access, equity in support, and equity in success. The EWD Program enhances career education and supports students' socioeconomic mobility by providing opportunities for workforce training, upskilling,…

We investigate whether student participation in undergraduate research--a high impact practice at TBR community colleges--has an effect on (1) academic performance; (2) probability of graduation, university transfer, and student departure; and (3) time to completion, transfer, and departure. Using enrollment, graduation, and course-taking data on…

The California Community Colleges (CCC) launched Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) after the passage of SB164 (1969). Colleges leverage their EOPS funding to offer academic, career, and personal counseling; financial resources; and services "over and above" traditional campus supports. This latest research builds on the…

Motivation for the study: The Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) is implementing and expanding a suite of high impact practices (HIP) in its community colleges. Service learning, one of such HIPs, is incorporated into general education or degree programs' requirements via credit-bearing service learning components of different durations. While…

Wyoming community colleges provide dynamic lifelong learning environments through higher education, workforce development, innovative partnerships, and civic and global engagement that lead to responsible citizenship and economic, social, and cultural prosperity. Planning for the future of Wyoming's community colleges and fulfilling the mission of…

This is the sixth issue in a series of American Association of Community Colleges analyses of trends in community college enrollments and examination of completion rates. Two sources are used, enrollment, graduation rates, and outcomes measures information from the U.S. Department of Education and enrollment and completion rates published by the…

The data above provide insight into the range of student outcomes for colleges participating in the American Association of Community Colleges's (AACC's) Voluntary Framework of Accountability (VFA), a national system of metrics designed by community colleges for community colleges to better describe the outcomes of their students. As the data…

Community colleges play an important role in providing access to higher education and promoting economic mobility, but student outcomes vary widely across institutions. Although community colleges have been largely excluded from recent federal accountability action, the potential re-regulation of Gainful Employment raises the question of whether…

Traditional developmental mathematics sequences are a major impediment for community college students who need to acquire college-level mathematics credit in order to attain their long-term academic goals. Each year, approximately 500,000 students fail to complete their developmental mathematics coursework, jeopardizing their ability to earn an…

Nationally, 38.5% of the students who began at a four-year college in 2011-12 attended another college within the first six years of college entry, and more than half of these students attended a community college. Eight percent of students who began at a four-year institution took up to 10 credits at a community college during the same period.…