Community College Insights

Community colleges serve students in many ways depending on their educational goals, so much of the value these institutions provide for their communities is overlooked when measuring success.

The looming FAFSA crisis has continued into June, likely leading to a decrease in enrollments for grant and federal loan dependent schools. In turn, community colleges may see an enrollment increase.

Historically, most higher education state and local spending has gone to four-year institutions. As community colleges play an increasing role in training workers for high-demand jobs, have funding patterns kept up?

Issues surrounding the new FAFSA form have led to a sharp decline in form completions for the coming academic year. This could result in overall enrollment declines across higher education, but it is likely to hit some groups of students and institutions harder than others.

The motivations behind the new gainful employment policy are noble, but community colleges, especially in rural areas, could be disproportionately harmed by the earnings premium test.

In this article, we discuss the history and motivation of federal gainful employment legislation and what the new rules entail.

Dual enrollment programs can play an important role in creating a strong, educated workforce, but they need to make sure the funding policies are available and effective.

Community colleges offer non-credit workforce training programs that prepare students for high-demand jobs. Data on these programs and their students are limited. The Richmond Fed's Survey of Community College Outcomes aims to bridge the data gap.

Pell Grants make community college more accessible for low-income students, but those enrolled in non-credit coursework aren't eligible. Expanding eligibility would be significant for both institutions and students.

Data on dual enrollment programs is limited, but through the Richmond Fed's Survey of Community Colleges Outcomes, we now have a better understanding of how Fifth District community colleges serve high school students and how these students perform.