A GPS talent marketplace for opportunity
America doesn’t suffer from a shortage of pathways to opportunity. It suffers from a shortage of ways to help people navigate those pathways. Community colleges need to step up and play a central role in…
Commentary
Washington Watch: ED releases final Workforce Pell regs
Culminating a months-long regulatory process, the U.S. Education Department on Monday published final regulations for the Workforce Pell Grant program, which will guide stakeholders as they implement the new eligibility that begins July 1. The…
The most important person at commencement is not the graduate
It is 9 a.m. sharp, and the 42nd commencement of the Community College of Aurora is about to commence. This year, the institution is conferring its largest number of degrees and certificates in the college’s…
The data part of Workforce Pell
The Pell Grant remains the best way to help low-income students afford college, and it’s especially important for community college students eager to learn and earn. Every year, 30% of all Pell Grant recipients attend…
The tipping point
The urgency behind getting community and technical colleges involved is measurable and accelerating. The Learning Policy Institute in 2026 identified the teacher shortage problem in the United States: 45,582 unfilled positions nationwide 365,967 positions filled…
Washington Watch: ED releases new draft of accreditation regs
The Education Department this week released new draft regulations in advance of next week’s second and final week-long accreditation negotiated-rulemaking sessions. Most of the regulations are unchanged, such as new requirements related to the monitoring…
Designing rural bachelor’s pathways through shared accountability
In recent years, community college leaders have been asked to rethink how student success is defined and measured. Accountability is increasingly tied not only to enrollment and credential completion, but to longer-term outcomes such as…
Re-enrolling stopped-out students as a community college imperative
My path through higher education was not linear. As a first-generation college student, college was always something I had to fit around life’s many other demands. I completed my bachelor’s degree only to find myself winding…
After Canvas: The architectural question higher ed has been avoiding
The Canvas breach didn’t fail because hackers got lucky. It failed because the architecture made it inevitable, and the standard response — patch, harden, audit, repeat — will produce the next breach on the same…
Advancing workforce readiness in Illinois
In spring 2026, Illinois is preparing legislation (HB 5319/SB 4034) that will authorize community colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees in high-demand applied fields. Supported by Gov. JB Pritzker, the initiative aims to address workforce shortages…