Just as states require anyone interested in operating a motor vehicle to meet specific driver's license requirements, state policies dictate that any individual interested in teaching in a public school must first fulfill a series of requirements to obtain a teaching credential. As schools increasingly struggle to find an adequate number of…

Community college bachelor's (CCB) programs have only existed for a few decades, yet now reach 25 states. Since 1989, both state policies allowing these programs and the number of CCB programs itself has grown steadily. A body of research on CCBs is growing in the wake of changing state policy and the growth of new programs. This literature review…

Community college enrollment has significantly declined since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Between the spring 2020 term and the spring 2022 term, community college enrollment declined by nearly 17 percent nationwide. This alarming trend has posed a threat to the well-being of community colleges and the students they serve, which includes…

Congress has legislation before it to increase the maximum Pell Grant by $550 for low-income students. But students would not be allowed to use the extra Pell dollars at for-profit colleges and universities. This has the for-profit higher education industry claiming discrimination against them in their lobbying campaign insisting that any federal…

There is a growing body of evidence about the disproportionate impact the pandemic had on English learners (ELs). We sought to capture the complexity of learning conditions for this student population during the COVID-19 pandemic by interviewing 20 EL education leaders. These experts' experiences revealed that while remote learning posed…

In the summer of 2022, New America managed focus groups with almost 50 borrowers from across the country who reported holding federal student debt and defaulting on their loans before the COVID-19 pandemic. Focus group participants felt hopeless about their student loans, and they had good reason to feel this way. They entered the default system,…

High-quality non-degree workforce programs at community colleges, including both credit-bearing and non-credit programs, play a crucial role in equipping low-income and marginalized workers and learners with the skills and credentials they need to secure quality jobs and careers in a variety of occupations. Financing these programs can be a…

Since the existing literature on the impact of early alert systems (EAS) focuses on four-year institutions, we lack widespread understanding of EAS effectiveness for community college students. In addition, very few studies evaluate racial equity implications for EAS, which makes it challenging for community college leaders to translate results to…

While research shows that exclusionary discipline practices in the early years are ineffective and developmentally inappropriate, young children continue to be suspended and expelled at high rates. An increasing number of states have taken steps to ensure that young children are not removed from programs due to their behavior. This report explores…

Despite the growing popularity of WBL, the community college and workforce development fields need greater transparency and clarity on the design of these programs to broaden workforce pathways, ensure the transferability of exemplary program models, and support the advancement of equitable outcomes for all students, especially learners from…

In April 2021, New America's Open Technology Institute (OTI) and the Philanthropication thru Privatization Project (PtP) released a joint proposal that the federal government should invest a substantial portion of the windfall proceeds from future auctions of public airwaves (spectrum) to seed a new Digital Equity Foundation dedicated to…

Culturally responsive education is an asset-based approach to teaching and learning, which incorporates materials that reflect students' cultural communities ("mirrors") and those of different communities ("windows"). These materials support students' engagement, learning and interests in career fields, expose them to different…

Given the rapid growth in short-term programs, and policymakers' fast-growing interest to invest federal higher education dollars into very-short-term credentials, we explore what the research does--and does not--show us about such credentials' utility in the labor market. With concerns about equity, our review of the literature guides us towards…

Policymakers are interested in extending federal higher education dollars to programs fewer than 15 weeks. This analysis shares key facts about the outcomes and equity implications of very-short-term (15 weeks or fewer) programs. This analysis of nationally representative survey data from the Adult Training and Education Survey, combined with…

The use of student data to inform decision-making and communication is still evolving in higher education. Often missing from campus conversations about use of student data are student voices about their preferences and needs. NASPA and New America engaged in a joint research effort to better understand student perceptions of data use within…