In the past few decades, the cost of college has risen significantly, while federal, state, and institutional financial aid and family income have remained stagnant or declined (Goldrick-Rab, 2018). As a result, many college students struggle to afford the full cost of college attendance and may experience basic needs insecurity, including the…

Education is an inherent right for all individuals, and lack of access to education has remained a significant issue of fairness. Historically underrepresented students have encountered obstacles to achieving academic success within higher education institutions. Efforts and academic studies spanning several decades have concentrated on equalizing…

Operating from intersecting theories of validation, marginality, and mattering, this phenomenological study investigated undocumented student support services from the perspective of 49 Undocumented Student Resource Center (USRC) practitioners. In-depth interviews highlighted the ways that USRC practitioners served as validating agents, directly…

Facing enrollment declines that date to the Great Recession and accelerated during the worst of the pandemic, community colleges are redoubling their focus on student-readiness to seem--and become--as welcoming as possible. These efforts include: (1) ramping up student equity, diversity, and inclusion; (2) becoming more trauma-informed and…

This article provides a brief history of undocumented students and higher education, from the landmark case of "Plyler v. Doe" to the examination of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. As lawmakers engage in debate regarding undocumented immigrants, states have attempted to provide educational clarity. In addition, academic…

The COVID-19 pandemic brought the care crisis in the United States to the fore. Unprecedented closures of child care programs throughout 2020 placed a disproportionate burden on families, and mothers in particular. For parents enrolled in college or considering postsecondary enrollment at the time of the pandemic, the loss of child care services…

In 2022, the Transfer Equity Project (TEP) examined key aspects of Washington's transfer ecosystem for students, specifically towards achieving equitable student outcomes. This project took the form of a self-study and engaged a task force that included a wide range of participants from various organizations in Washington. From this exploration…

The dataset used in this report was created by combining Bridge to Finish intervention records, provided by the United Way of King County (UWKC), with student information provided by the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC). The intervention records span the terms from summer 2018 through fall 2021. SBCTC data include these…

Higher education offers many benefits to individuals and society--including increased employment opportunities and higher wages--and can help disrupt cycles of intergenerational poverty by improving economic outcomes for those who earn postsecondary credentials. Public community and technical colleges offer a relatively affordable, open-access…

Basic needs insecurity -- including housing and food insecurity, as well as lack of access to healthcare, childcare, transportation, and other basic needs -- is a critical barrier that can undermine persistence and completion rates for postsecondary students. The gaps in covering critical costs such as housing and food are pervasive among students…

This study's purpose is to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on international students who were studying at U.S. community colleges at the onset of this public health crisis. While previous work has explored the impact of the pandemic on international students generally, we argue that community college international students deserve…

Since 2016, the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO), with generous support from Lumina Foundation, has been working with states to explore establishing "promise-type" aid programs for adult students (adult promise programs). SHEEO is currently working with 15 states to implement adult promise programs through…

The purpose of this study was to understand a school-based mentoring model that uses school staff as adult mentors. This study presents existing literature on school-based mentoring models along with a case study of one teen parent high school. The report also includes step-by-step guidance for implementation. At the case study school, all school…

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruption to enrollment in higher education. The overall shut down of the nation in March of 2020 forced colleges and universities to shift their content delivery primarily online, a context which continued for the remainder of the 2019-20 academic year. As the pandemic stretched on through the summer,…

Achieving Washington's state attainment goal of 70% of residents aged 25-44 earning a credential requires not just maintaining but increasing college enrollment among high school graduates and adult learners. Increasing enrollment and reaching the attainment goal among Washingtonians from populations historically excluded from higher education…