This chapter addresses how Latinx students and their families understand the process of going to and choosing to attend a community college.

There are hundreds of recognized tuition-free college "promise" programs, but few are as generous or flexible as the Kalamazoo Promise (KPromise). Pre-COVID studies on KPromise have demonstrated effects on increased college attendance, credit completion, and persistence. Extending these findings to the COVID-19 pandemic context can help…

This chapter addresses the impact of free community college and state merit scholarships on college-going patterns of high school graduates, community college revenue contexts, and student access and completion at community colleges.

Precollege outreach programs improve college access for underrepresented students; however, information on foster youth engagement in precollege programs is virtually nonexistent. This chapter describes the impact of a precollege program on two- and four-year college enrollment and completion rates.

This chapter discusses results of a fifty-state study conducted through the Academic Pathways to Access and Student Success initiative, and identifies curricular, instructional, and organizational approaches that increase opportunities for underserved students to attend college. (Contains 1 table.)

Presents a conceptual model of student flow through the community college. Outlines the purposes of student tracking systems and discusses the tension between the theory and practice of designing and implementing tracking systems. (DMM)

Recounts a young teacher's awakening to the problems and conflicts in community college education, explores issues particularly related to adult students, and provides case studies that exemplify the goals, problems, and needs of reentry, first-generation students. Offers guidance on working with adult students. (DMM)

Examines the rate of student transfer from community colleges to four-year colleges as measured by the Transfer Assembly project. Indicates that 22.6% of students who began their postsecondary education in community colleges and completed at least four courses there enrolled in a university within four years. (MAB)

Discusses the economic, demographic, and curricular trends likely to have an impact on the transfer rate. Indicates that the transfer rate should increase because of lower numbers of first-year students accepted by universities, funding cuts for avocational courses for adults, and an increase in the number of 18-year olds. (MAB)

Discusses the impact of social/structural mobility on first-generation college students, focusing on the common need to renegotiate relations with family and friends and to acquire a new social identity with the attendant symbols (language, dress, etc.) of status-group membership. (DMM)

Offers a personal account of the changes undergone, difficulties surmounted, and incentives involved in a Mexican-American woman's achievement of a doctorate and a post as a university professor. Concludes that just as students adapt, institutions must also change to accommodate culturally diverse populations. (DMM)

Describes programs in place at LaGuardia Community College which meet the needs of first-generation students, including alternative high schools; programs in critical thinking, speech and communication, and neighborhood history; and a partnership with Vassar College to enhance transfer opportunities. (DMM)

Chronicles the confusion and anguish of being caught between traditional Dominican culture and that of modern U.S. society. Relates the author's experiences at a community college, problems in "fitting in," and issues of identity as an immigrant student. (DMM)

Identifies keys to the success of tribal colleges in meeting the educational needs of American Indian students, focusing on programs and special services for tribal college students, and the role of college personnel (i.e., teachers, administrators, and board members) in serving first-generation students. (DMM)

Describes the characteristics and needs of first-generation college students at Miami-Dade Community College and the applicability of an academic support program at Wolfson Campus for recruiting and retaining African-American and Hispanic students who may be the first in their families to attend college. (DMM)