While data on enrollment, performance, persistence, and completion can offer directional information about access and success for different student groups, they do not provide the "why" behind these measures. Asking students directly about their experiences at the institution can help with a more comprehensive understanding of how to…

Meta-majors refer to the creation of broad program pathways or areas of interest, such as "Allied Health or Business." They are key components of the Guided Pathways efforts that provide students with a more structured and integrated academic experience. There are several different approaches (e.g., sorting exercises) colleges can use to…

Although case management in higher education is a relatively new phenomenon, the challenges presented by COVID-19 have forced many institutions to deliver emergency services in an extremely rapid fashion and adopt case management strategies to serve students in crisis. This case study shares how one large community college system developed a…

The experiences of first-generation college students are not monolithic. The nexus of identities matter, and this book is intended to challenge the reader to explore what it means to be a first-generation college student in higher education. Designed for use in classrooms and for use by the higher education practitioner on a college campus today,…

This Guide is designed to support the work of institutional cross-functional teams charged with strengthening adjunct faculty professional learning and institutional engagement. Each section shares key learnings from ATD's work with six Leader Colleges, including accomplishments in the form of new programs, services, or policies that can serve as…

In this comprehensive practitioner guidebook, the Northeast Resiliency Consortium colleges have shared their work and have collaborated to develop a competency model, along with a rich and robust set of principles, strategies, resources, and guidelines for helping students develop strong resiliency. The Resiliency Competency Model outlines the…

California has embraced transfer between the state's community colleges and universities as a key mechanism for ensuring a diverse and qualified workforce while simultaneously closing equity gaps and promoting economic mobility for its residents. Yet the RP Group's "Through the Gate" transfer study finds that each year, nearly 60,000…

This brief focuses on coaching for more equitable student outcomes to bring about student success. It builds on the work of the Coaching for Change project conducted by the Community College Research Initiatives (CCRI) at the University of Washington. The authors emphasize the importance of equity in comprehensive college reform, including the…

Assembly Bill 705 (AB 705) sought to increase successful completion of transfer-level math and English courses by addressing systemic problems in traditional placement policies and curricular structures. The law requires colleges to maximize the probability that students who enroll in credit English as a second language (ESL) courses complete…

These technical appendices are for the report, "English as a Second Language at California's Community Colleges: An Early Examination of AB 705 Reforms." Assembly Bill 705 (AB 705 Irwin) sought to increase successful completion of transfer-level math and English courses by addressing systemic problems in traditional placement policies…

There is a growing "swirling" trend of students alternating between 2- and 4-year colleges. The non-linear paths traveled by many community college students often take them through multiple colleges and/or through patterns of stop-out and return. Due to the rapid growth of international students pursuing US degrees, this study identifies…

Community colleges enroll almost half of the undergraduates in the United States and provide students the option to earn a degree at a lower cost and offer more flexible class schedules than four-year colleges. However, among first-time, full-time degree-seeking students entering public two-year schools, only about 20 percent graduate with a…

Since 2010, online college course enrollment has increased by 29 percent. Currently, 6.7 million students--or roughly one third of all college students--are enrolled in online courses. Community colleges in particular have embraced online education as a way to better serve their large numbers of nontraditional students, many of whom juggle…

This report shares findings from a three-year longitudinal study of three Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs)--one of the newest minority serving institution (MSI) designations--and provides evidence for the impact of federally-funded campus programs on persistence, degree attainment, and transfer…

Having garnered national attention, high failure rates in developmental education present a significant barrier to state and national policymakers' goals of increasing the percentage of adults who earn a college credential. However, a majority of the research fails to consider why students place into developmental education. This piece examines a…