ACE convened a working group of prominent
community college scholars and leaders at its offices in Washington, DC,
on Monday, leading to an enlightening and robust discussion of
innovative strategies aimed at improving student access and completion.
Leading the discussion was Jonathan Turk,
associate director of ACE’s Center for Policy Research and Strategy
(CPRS), whose opening remarks centered on research focusing on community
college student persistence and completion, closing equity gaps, and
community college leadership.
“ACE is committed to promoting policies and
practices that support student access and success,” Turk said. “One
aspect of this commitment is ensuring the success of students who enroll
at one of the nation’s community colleges. This convening was a chance
to bring together a diverse group of experts to help us better translate
current community college student success research to practice.”
The convening’s keynote speaker was Diane
Auer Jones, the U.S. Department of Education’s principal deputy under
secretary, delegated to perform the duties of under secretary and
assistant secretary for postsecondary education. As part of her remarks,
Jones expressed her support and encouragement for innovative modalities
focused on closing the student achievement gap and addressing the needs
of adult learners. The attendees spent the day in working groups
brainstorming strategies to increase completion rates as well as
identifying directions for future research.
The Convening on Community College Student Success and Completion was sponsored by Hobsons,
a leader in education technology. CPRS, along with Hobsons, has
recently produced a series of research briefs exploring outcomes for
recent high school graduates who begin their postsecondary education in a
community college, several of which were referenced at Monday’s event.
Three of the four briefs are completed and
can be found below. The fourth brief is anticipated to be released in
the fall of 2018 and will focus on community college student economic
outcomes and the non-economic benefits of earning an associate degree.
“We are extremely optimistic that the ideas
and strategies raised at this meeting will provide much-needed guidance
to ACE as we explore ways to better serve community college leaders
through action-oriented research,” said Turk.