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Innovative Educators is proud of its commitment to community colleges and excited to celebrate Community College Month. Each week we are highlighting articles focused on the concerns of community colleges and celebrating the efforts of our community college colleagues. Happy Community College Month and happy reading!
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The average age of a community college student is 29. |
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Professional Learning Communities at 4 Community Colleges
Four institutions, spearheaded by Achieving the Dream, will participate in a new network of professional learning communities (PLCs) designed to push students from education to employment. “The PLCs will bring together high school educators, community college faculty, workforce development professionals, community-based organizations, and business owners.” The four communities have identified gaps in the education pipeline that prevent low-income students from achieving economic mobility and have developed targeted programs to address these gaps.
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Michigan Serving Adult Learners
Michigan's Sixty by 30 initiative has the goal that 60% of the state's working adults will have a postsecondary credential by 2030. Two programs, Michigan Reconnect and Futures for Frontliners, targeted towards adult learners have had over 180,000 applications. Michigan’s initiative is modeled after Tennessee’s Reconnect program. Adult learners will receive free tuition and support from success coaches and advisers that the program refers to as navigators.
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"When a state (or) a college can make a commitment to forgive debt or make college affordable, it really ensures adults have the opportunity to earn a credential. It really provides opportunities that haven't been there before." - Christine Carpenter Senior Vice President of Engagement, CAEL |
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Increasing Numbers of Hispanic-Serving Institutions
Institutions where at least a quarter of the students are Hispanic are identified as Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). Currently there are 500 institutions designated as HSIs. However, more colleges will soon join their ranks, as enrollment of Hispanic and Latino students in higher education is expected to exceed 4.4 million students by 2025. Currently over 300 colleges are classified as “emerging Hispanic-Serving Institutions.”
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Community College Highlight: Cayuga Community College Tackles How to Orient a Diverse Student Body - and at a Distance |
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Flagship Universities Fail to Enroll Black & Latino High School Grads
The Hechinger Report this week examines the low rates of acceptance of Black and Latino students to their state’s flagship universities. The University of Maryland has created a program to enroll local high school students in a free calculus class and another program to support first-generation student applications in an effort to increase Black and Latino high school applicants. Critics maintain that flagship universities are highly selective in their admissions process and chose not to accept qualified Black and Latino applicants.
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April 23, 2021
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