In 2015, Idaho adopted the nation's first direct admissions system and proactively admitted all high school graduates to a set of public institutions. This reimagination of the admissions process may reduce barriers to students' enrollment and improve access across geographic and socioeconomic contexts by removing many human capital,…

In this chapter, we discuss changes in the age structure of the labor force, the need for continued skill upgrading over the life course to remain employable, patterns of participation in adult learning and development activities, and the role community colleges play in providing education and training to middle-aged and older adults. In an…

This is the third brief summarizing results from the longitudinal analysis of the Transfer Opportunity Project (TOP). TOP, funded by a grant from the Institute for Education Sciences (IES), explores the possible factors contributing to the low percentage of community college students who go on to earn bachelor's degrees. The project uses a…

This is the second brief of three summarizing results from the longitudinal analysis of the Transfer Opportunity Project (TOP). TOP, funded by a grant from the Institute for Education Sciences (IES), explores the possible factors contributing to the low percentage of community college students who go on to earn bachelor's degrees. The project uses…

The goal of this study was to assess the relationships between computational approaches to analyzing constructed responses made during reading and individual differences in the foundational skills of reading in college readers. We also explored if these relationships were consistent across texts and samples collected at different institutions and…

Community colleges play a key role in driving talent development in the United States, producing workers with the kinds of training that employers need while enhancing economic mobility for students. There has been a push among policymakers at the federal and state levels to hold community colleges accountable for the employment outcomes of their…

The last two decades have seen a dramatic increase in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) conducted in community colleges. Yet, there is limited empirical information on the design parameters necessary to plan the sample size for RCTs in this context. We provide empirical estimates of key design parameters, discussing lessons based on the pattern…

Using rich administrative data from the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office that tracks each student longitudinally, this analysis examines how the onset of the pandemic affected student enrollment duration. Data are disaggregated by student characteristics and college campuses in order to understand variable impacts and equity…

Food insecurity is widespread among college students in the United States. CalFresh food benefits, known federally as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, can help students in California pay for food, but may not reach all eligible students. CalFresh enrollment rates among students have been difficult to estimate due to…

This article provides evidence about predictive relationships between features of community college interventions and their impacts on student progress. This evidence is based on analyses of student-level data from large-scale randomized trials of 39 (mostly) community college interventions. Specifically, the evidence consistently indicates that…

The Massachusetts Department of Higher Education (DHE) and the state's 28 public colleges and universities have collaborated over the last fifteen years to make easier and more transparent the process of transferring from a community college to a bachelor's degree program in one of the state's public colleges or universities. In this report, we…

Only 11% of community college (associate's-degree) students transfer vertically and obtain a bachelor's degree within six years, despite over 80% originally intending to do so. These leaks in the transfer pipeline disproportionately affect students from underrepresented groups, who are more likely to attend community colleges and to leak out of…

We examined the effect of three components of self-determination--autonomy, empowerment, and self-realization--on the postsecondary enrollment of English learners with disabilities, using quasi-experimental propensity score modeling and data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2. Results support the hypothesis that self-determination…

In two studies, we explored the associations among situational reading-related competence beliefs and task value, inference strategies, comprehension during reading, and foundational skills in college age students. In Study 1, 93 participants from a community college completed assessments of comprehension and two types of inference strategies…

One frequently cited yet understudied channel through which funding levels impact college students is course availability--colleges are often forced to respond to budgetary pressure by reducing course offerings. We provide the first causal evidence on this mechanism at a community college, using administrative course registration data and a novel…