Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degrees are designed to prepare individuals for career opportunities, but they are increasingly prevalent among students transferring to universities. Still, transfer experiences for AAS holders are fraught with barriers such as credit loss and credit applicability toward baccalaureate degrees. Using statewide…

Introduction: The North Carolina "Comprehensive Articulation Agreement" ("CAA") is a joint agreement between the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) and the University of North Carolina (UNC) System that governs the transfer of students between the two systems. It was created in 1996 and underwent significant…

This report examines the structural divide between for-credit and noncredit postsecondary education and the problems it presents for people seeking better jobs with higher pay. It highlights innovative ways that some community colleges are trying to bridge the gap nationally--creating more seamless pathways between credit and noncredit…

"The Talent Blind Spot," which is divided into two reports, demonstrates that, each year, more than 50,000 high-achieving, low- and moderate-income community college students do not transfer to a four-year institution. Approximately 15,000 of these students have a 3.7 GPA or higher, which suggests they could succeed at even the most…

In 2012, five foundations launched the Credit When Its Due (CWID) initiative that was "designed to encourage partnerships of community colleges and universities to significantly expand programs that award associate degrees to transfer students when the student completes the requirements for the associate degree while pursuing a bachelor's…

Despite widely shared aspirations, the vast majority of community college students do not continue their studies at four-year colleges. In November 2013, "Jobs for the Future" convened higher education leaders and researchers to explore state-level policy strategies for restructuring community college in ways that enhance student…

Many states are experimenting with mechanisms for making college more affordable while maintaining quality and access. This report examines promising or innovative state programs to improve college affordability and credential attainment. Many of these approaches show innovative thinking and bear watching to see if they result in meaningful…

In the United States, community colleges serve nearly half of the 18 million students enrolled in postsecondary education. However, it has only been the last decade or so where these public, two-year institutions have claimed substantial attention from the research community. This dissertation consists of three essays that focus on aspects of the…

Because of their commitment to the voluntary measurement and improvement of student learning outcomes, colleges and universities that are members of the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) have been at the forefront of the national shift from teacher-centered to student-centered learning. The institutions participating in the CIC Degree…

In spring 2012, after a year of intensive data analysis and planning, the colleges participating in Completion by Design announced strategies for creating clear, structured routes through college for more students, often referred to as accelerated, structured pathways to completion. These strategies contain elements unique to each college, but all…

IN A REPORT PUBLISHED IN 1962, IT WAS CONCLUDED THAT TOTAL SCHOOL DESEGREGATION IN NORTH CAROLINA WAS NOT LIKELY IN THE FORSEEABLE FUTURE UNLESS FORCED BY COURT DECREES. THE BASIS FOR THE PREDICTION WAS THE HISTORY OF APPLICATION OF TWO ACTS--THE PUPIL ASSIGNMENT ACT, WHICH TRANSFERRED AUTHORITY OF PUPIL ASSIGNMENT TO LOCAL SCHOOL BOARDS, AND THE…

This "Policy Alert" summarizes an earlier report, State Policy and Community College-Baccalaureate Transfer, which examined the role of state policy in influencing community college-baccalaureate transfer. The "Policy Alert" looks at the importance of two-year to four-year transfer, and offers recommendations for improvement to…

The main purpose of this study is to present documented facts concerning the operation of school desegregation in communities which are engaged in the process. The purpose of the Commission on Civil Rights is to identify problems which recur in school districts undergoing desegregation, and to describe how they have been met. Specifically, the…

These reports on school integration in Pasadena (California), Tampa-Hillsborough (Florida), Charlotte-Mecklenburg and Winston-Salem/Forsyth (North Carolina), and Pontiac (Michigan) are based on interviews and material gathered by Commission on Civil Rights staff members from January 10, 1972, through March 29, 1972. In each school district staff…

This study determined curriculum costs in comprehensive junior colleges for one college-parallel, 28 technical, and 16 vocational curriculums. Differential costs were found for each of ten components identified for all curriculums. Aggregate curriculum costs were determined from the sum of the ten component costs. Differential costs were found…