College enrollment increased again this fall, continuing a cautious recovery for higher education following the decline of the Covid pandemic. But it isn’t four-year institutions driving much of the growth. It’s community colleges. Undergraduate enrollment…
When I arrived at Forsyth Technical Community College (North Carolina) in 2019, the college’s three-year completion rate was just 19%. Graduating fewer than one out of every five students obviously was not good enough —…
Short-term, career-focused programs have been growing faster than the data to measure them. Estimates from Credential Engine and the Harvard Workforce Almanac suggest there are now roughly 1.5 million unique non-degree credentials offered by about…
A U.S. district judge on Friday issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration’s cancellation and discontinuation of more than 100 TRIO grants during the fiscal year 2025 cycle. Over last summer and fall, several…
As America’s demographic, economic, political and technological realities continue to shift, so too do society’s expectations of higher education and its community colleges. Resilient by Design, recently published by the American Association of Community Colleges,…
Recently, I listened to NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang’s keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show, where he introduced what he called the Vera Rubin Era. It was not a product announcement; it was a…
Community colleges have historically served as engines of regional economic development, drawing on strong community integration to translate labor market needs into accessible education. However, rapid technological change and the decline of entry-level jobs now…
The Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) negotiated-rulemaking committee on Friday reached consensus on draft regulations that would implement a new accountability structure for nearly all Title IV-eligible programs. The…
The final months of 2025 brought an unprecedented opportunity to immerse myself in the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education. Through three distinct conferences, each offering unique perspectives on AI’s role in…
In recent years, the United States has been grappling with a critical shortage of career and technical education (CTE) faculty, a challenge that jeopardizes the quality and accessibility of vocational education nationwide. This shortage also…