In 2010, then-California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law the Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act, which required the California Community Colleges (CCC) and California State University (CSU) systems to work together to smooth out the transfer process and give students with associate degrees priority at California state institutions. Since academic year 2011­–12, a record number […]

Editor’s Note: As part of a series of profiles focusing on Pathways Project participants, the following is a look at how Cleveland State Community College, in Tennessee, approaches the challenge of leading students to a career or a four-year college. Cleveland State Community College President Bill Seymour sees his college’s work in building structured pathways […]

Editor’s Note: Both Oregon and Tennessee are expecting or have already seen an increase in students because of tuition-free community college. In this two-part series, we take a look at how each state is focusing on the students’ first year. Having removed a key barrier to community college access, the Tennessee Promise program — which […]

Editor’s Note: Both Oregon and Tennessee are expecting or have already seen an increase in students because of tuition-free community college. In this two-part series, we take a look at how each state is focusing on the students’ first year. Blue Mountain Community College (BMCC), in Pendleton, Oregon, is anticipating an enrollment bump of as […]

Certificates have surged in popularity in the past 20 years — in fact, they’re the fastest-growing postsecondary credential in the United States, according to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. In some instances, data show certificates may even be a better investment than a college degree. Check out our infographic below for […]

A new report being released this month by the Community College Research Center, The Aspen Institute and the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center tracks the performance of the nation’s colleges and states in helping students transfer to four-year universities and earn bachelor’s degrees. The report provides, for the first time, information about which colleges are […]

Editor’s Note: As part of a series of profiles focusing on Pathways Project participants, the following is a look at how Cleveland State Community College, in Tennessee, approaches the challenge of leading students to a career or a four-year college. Cleveland State Community College President Bill Seymour sees his college’s work in building structured pathways […]

What happens in the first year a new student sets foot on a community college campus is vitally important in determining his or her future. The importance of setting up students for success early on isn’t a new idea. In fact, nearly 30 years ago, in The Freshman Year Experience, educator John N. Gardner and […]

During the 2013–14 academic year, the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) awarded 9,580 associate degrees; in 2014–15, the college awarded 9,632. Since 2000, KCTCS has tripled the number of associate degrees it’s awarded. KCTCS Chancellor Rhonda Tracy shares five specific reasons for the remarkable increases: The rise in online learning. “We’ve had a […]

With help from a Lumina Foundation grant, the University System of Georgia (USG) is identifying students who earned enough credits for associate degrees but never received diplomas. The system is making the process easier for students to obtain those two-year degrees retroactively. The objective of the Complete College Georgia initiative is for 60 percent of […]