Community College Enrollment Boom

Whether it’s the economy, new academic programs or better recruiting, community colleges across the nation are seeing an enrollment boom. While enrollment has been growing steadily at many two-year institutions, this fall appears likely to set records for many of these colleges. As a result, some community colleges are exploring innovative ways to serve their growing student bodies, make better use of facilities and attract new professors. William Lewis, Pearl River Community College’s president, said of that college’s significant enrollment increase this year, “We’re really feeling good about things. People all over the country are realizing the value of community colleges.”

The Benefit of Dual Enrollment

Dual enrollment programs that enable high schoolers to enroll in college courses and earn college credit can positively influence students in career and technical education (CTE) programs. According to a recent study by the Community College Research Center (CCRC), CTE students who participated in dual enrollment courses had better educational outcomes than their classmates who did not participate. ACTE believes these results provide strong evidence that dual enrollment is an effective transition strategy for many students, and that states and programs should consider ways to encourage participation for a broader range of students. At the institutional level, collaborations among high schools and colleges should focus on ways that dual enrollment can be integrated into existing and new curricular pathways.

Service Learning

A new paper by ECS’ National Center for Learning and Citizenship translates service-learning’s research-based evidence for education leaders by identifying practices and policies in alignment with the data that shows what works. This paper also provides a research-based service-learning framework encompassing the simultaneous renewal of five critical components shown to institutionalize and maximize service-learning effectiveness: vision and leadership, curriculum and assessment, community-school partnerships, professional development and continuous improvement.

Lasting Effects of Preschool Education

In recent years, participation in center-based preschool programs has become much more common, and public support for these programs has grown dramatically. Nevertheless, participation remains far from universal, and policies vary across states and program options. Since policy makers typically have more alternatives than money, they face key questions about the value of preschool education, whom it should serve or subsidize, and which program designs are best. This EPIC brief reviews the research regarding the short- and long-term effects of preschool education on young children’s learning and development, with particular attention given to what is known about influences on program effectiveness.

Preparing Creative and Critical Thinkers

Teachers can help students become 21st-century problem solvers by introducing them to a broad range of thinking tools. By helping students learn and apply the attitudes and practical tools of effective problem solvers, teachers can enhance student learning in powerful ways that extend beyond memorization and recall. Even with the need to place great emphasis on basic learning and doing well on standardized tests, it remains important to balance the emphasis between process and content in teaching and learning. Students who are competent in not only the basics of content areas but also the basics of productive and creative thinking will be lifelong learners, knowledge creators, and problem solvers who can live and work effectively in a world of constant change.

Increased Graduation Requirements

In the last several years, a number of states have raised high school graduation requirements, particularly in math and science, in an effort to improve student achievement at the high school level; address postsecondary and employer complaints about inadequately prepared graduates; align high school and postsecondary curriculum and requirements; and respond to accusations that students who drop out were not challenged. This ECS policy brief presents the potential consequences commonly raised by critics of increased graduation requirements. Each "myth" is followed by relevant research and/or experience, as well as guiding principles for best policy in establishing more challenging curricular expectations for all students.