The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan regional compact focused on critical issues with strong potential to improve quality of life by advancing public education. Designed primarily for legislators and other policymakers and policyshapers, SREB's research is policy-oriented, descriptive, and centered on statewide public education. SREB is a leading information resource and holds decades of national, regional, and state postsecondary data to support the policy work including publications such as the "Essential Elements" series and other policy briefs. The recent Commission on Community Colleges report, "Strengthening readiness and pathways," offers recommendations to foster a robust discussion on the role of these institutions and their potential over the next decade (see www.sreb.org). The commission's discussions and research underscored three important areas where community colleges are critical: educational attainment, readiness, and pathways. Among the many data points that define this sector, student readiness and cost of attendance stand out. Community colleges are essential to achieve state goals, and SREB's policy and research activities continue to examine how states and institutions can realistically keep community colleges affordable, given the fluctuations in state support, critical need for support services to assist the student population they serve, and state needs for meeting economic development and workforce goals.