This chapter describes the role microcredentials can play within the context of guided pathways and degree completion, illustrated through three case studies of community colleges and systems.

Student retention has garnered increased attentions in higher education. Drawing from various theoretical perspectives, researchers have developed multiple theoretical models to explain or predict student retention. Most models, however, were intended for traditional aged, full-time students at 4-year colleges or universities. The rapid growth of…

Relationships between community colleges and the public workforce system might have an important role in promoting students' success in the labor market and in college. In particular, the co-location of American Job Centers (AJC) on community college campuses is a particularly strong form of relationship that might benefit students. Yet little is…

In 2010, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the College Board initiated a project to identify ways of improving the efficiency of the transfer pathway, a century-old mechanism that provides community college students with an opportunity to earn the baccalaureate degree at four-year institutions. Both organizations understand that the…

In the wake of President Obama's challenge to again make the United States the world's No. 1 producer of college graduates and degree and certificate holders, the nation's community college leaders are shifting their focus from access to success. Fueled by the president's goals, and six months of conversation and deliberation within the college…