- Defining rural-serving institutions
- Making an economic difference
- New York college’s cyber program gets NSA designation
Defining rural-serving institutions
A tool developed by the Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges (ARRC) uses a new metric to better identify rural-serving institutions (RSIs). It shows that more than half (52.8%) of the 1,000 RSIs serving nearly 5 million students are community colleges.
While there’s been an uptick in research on rural students, there is little research on RSIs, according to ARRC, which is located at Appalachian State University in North Carolina. In fact, part of the challenge is identifying RSIs. In most instances, researchers decide whether an institution is rural based on its location, relying on one of several governmental classifications, the center says.
“The problem is that this approach emphasizes location over service. And it can undercount institutions by leaving out land-grants and regional colleges on the suburban fringe that serve rural students,” according to the report.
ARRC this week released a metric it developed to identify RSIs and offers a range of publicly available data products and tools to promote research about these institutions.
An analysis by ARRC shows that in almost every higher education sector, 35% or more of the RSI student body are people of color. It also shows that roughly one-third of historically Black colleges and universities are RSIs, as are 18% of high Hispanic-enrolling institutions, 93% of tribal colleges and universities, and 94% of high Native-enrolling (nontribal) institutions.
ARRC hopes the research helps policymakers, funders and journalists more effectively target and support to what are often vital assets for rural communities. It noted the importance of RSIs has been underscored through the Covid pandemic, when the institutions worked to continue educating students remotely in spite of inequality in broadband internet access and served as important public health partners for testing clinics and vaccine distribution.
“RSIs are important educational access points for low-income students, adult learners and those from marginalized racial backgrounds, and they are critical to regional economic development, as many RSIs are the largest employer in their region. These institutions have deep connections to their communities, and this project will help those stories to be told,” said Andrew Koricich, the project’s principal investigator and ARRC executive director.
Making an economic difference
Reports spotlighting the local and state impact of community colleges are fairly common, but they still pack a punch.
For example, a study recently released by Delgado Community College shows that the century-old institution has a $588.1 million impact annually in the greater New Orleans region. The study measures the economic impacts created by Delgado on the business community and the benefits the college generates in return for the investments made by its key stakeholder groups: students, taxpayers and society.
Delgado’s total effect can also be expressed in terms of jobs supported. The study shows that the $588.1 million annual impact supported 10,059 regional jobs, using the jobs-to-sales ratios specific to each industry in the region. This means that one out of every 90 jobs in Delgado’s service area is supported by the activities of Delgado and its students, according to the report.
The California Community College System also last week released an economic impact report of its 116 colleges. It noted that California’s community colleges — from their operations, construction and student spending, to the enhanced productivity of their alumni — generate $128.2 billion in economic activity, an amount equal to approximately 4.2% of California’s total gross state product.
“For further perspective, this means that one out of every 16 jobs in California is supported by the activities of the colleges and their students,” the report says.
New York college’s cyber program gets NSA designation
Suffolk County Community College (SCCC) has received a key national certification for its cyber security program.
The New York college last week was awarded Program of Study Validation by the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity. The certifying group is managed by the U.S. National Cryptologic School at the National Security Agency (NSA).
“Our comprehensive program is a result of faculty teamwork and provides students with challenging labs and activities that simulate real-world experiences,” said Susan Frank, associate professor of cyber security.
She noted the certification will provide Suffolk students with a pathway to federal cyber security jobs.
