The States and Their Community Colleges

Every state offers community colleges as the first rung on the ladder of higher education. They prepare students for four-year colleges, educate key professions like nursing and firefighting, offer job training and basic skills, and bolster economic development. A new Education Policy Brief from the Rockefeller Institute finds that the 50 states differ widely in the extent to which they use their community college systems: "So the differences in the use that states make of their community colleges are clear - but the causes are not. And because these differences matter, there is a clear challenge for community college leaders, policymakers and researchers to dig deep enough to explain the differences, and to help states make better use of this dynamic and growing force in education."