Aligning Education with Work
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY There is a persistent mismatch between North Carolina’s higher education outputs and the state’s workforce needs. In order to address this gap, policymakers must prioritize and incentivize ways…
Posts tagged with
“community colleges”
Are “Minimesters” the Future?
For more than a century, the traditional academic semester—typically lasting 15 or 16 weeks—has been the dominant calendar in American higher education. Yet this format is increasingly being reconsidered. A…
Should Community Colleges Offer Four-Year Degrees?
More junior colleges are offering four-year bachelor’s degrees in addition to two-year associate’s degrees, and traditional universities hate the competition. But while students and policymakers should welcome new options, junior…
The Faculty Versus Academic Reform
Since the 1997 founding of Western Governors University (WGU), a private, nonprofit institution developed to pioneer so-called competency-based education (CBE), a growing number of colleges throughout the U.S. have explored…
Community Colleges Needn’t Infantilize Students
In the latest instance of colleges providing hand-holding incentives to students, Baltimore City Community College (BCCC) has begun paying some students to meet with career counselors. Through grant funding, students…
Can Community Colleges Spur Apprenticeship Growth?
A recent study by the advocacy organization Apprenticeships for America reveals the growing potential of community-college apprenticeship programs. Since 2016, the number of community colleges with active apprentices in hosted…
An Interview with the New NCCCS President
The North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) has named, once again, a new president. Three years ago, the NCCCS said goodbye to President Peter Hans when he accepted the role…
Will State University Systems Punish Underperforming Schools?
The California State University System is implementing a plan that will encourage universities to hit enrollment targets, but at great cost. In January, Cal State leaders announced the blueprints for…
How Community Colleges Can Avoid the “Cliff”
Community colleges were not doing too well in terms of enrollment before the pandemic; since then, things have gotten only worse, a few bright lights here and there notwithstanding. The…
Mending, Not Ending, Remedial Classes
A high-school diploma should be a default signal that the holder is prepared to embark on her or his college journey. In an ideal world, a country that spends a…