Total associate degrees conferred by U.S. institutions increased by 11 percent between academic years 2009-10 and 2010-11 to a record high of close to 950,000. Among students of color, the percentage increase was even higher: 13 percent. Students of color received nearly 300,000 associate degrees or about one-third of the 2010-11 total. Among…

This article presents a list of the top 100 producers of associate, bachelor's and graduate degrees awarded to minority students based on research conducted by Dr. Victor M.H. Borden, professor of educational leadership and policy students at the Indiana University Bloomington. For the year 2012, the listings focus on Hispanic students. Data for…

Academic year 2009-2010 was a banner year for associate degree conferrals in the United States. In just one year, the total number of degrees awarded increased from slightly less than 790,000 to nearly 850,000, an increase of 8 percent. Minorities receive one-third of all associate degrees conferred in the U.S., with nearly equal numbers going to…

This article focuses on the accelerated associate degree program at Ivy Tech Community College (Indiana) in which low-income students will receive an associate degree in one year. The three-year pilot program is funded by a $2.3 million grant from the Lumina Foundation for Education in Indianapolis and a $270,000 grant from the Indiana Commission…

Nearly 250,000 students of color received associate degrees in academic year 2008-09. This represents 30 percent of all associate degree recipients, which is just slightly below the 33 percent representation of these racial/ethnic groups in the general U.S. population. In this edition of the Top 100 series, researchers highlight the institutions…

This year, Diverse has added a new addition to its annual Top 100 degree producers series--recognizing, with this edition, the institutions that award the most associate degrees to students of color. More than half of minority undergraduate students start their degree quest at a community college with 55 percent of all Hispanic and Native American…

This article features Community College of the Air Force (CCAF) as the world's largest two-year higher education institution that will be celebrating the awarding of its 300,000th associate degree this fall. Headquartered at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, CCAF was founded in 1972 as a means of establishing a real-world credential for training…

This article describes how people with bachelor's and even advanced degrees are using two-year colleges as a form of graduate school. It defies the stereotype of community college as a place of last resort, and counters the norm of the first-time college students earning an associate degree and then transferring to a four-year institution. For the…

Foothill College in Los Altos, California and DeAnza College in California are two community colleges that provide higher education for international students. These colleges' commitment to provide education for international students has recently caused a controversial debate among the residents of California. Not all California residents are in…

Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, offers to a select group of community college students from around the U.S., an intensive summer program called Exploring Transfer. Exploring Transfer, which recently completed its 21st summer season, is hailed as an affirmative-action program that provides a much-needed educational boost to its diverse,…