Commentary

Building a local fiber broadband workforce

What started as a casual conversation about broadband fiber in the Johnston County Agriculture Center parking lot quickly evolved into a collaborative effort to explore how our combined connections, expertise and leadership could help meet…


Washington Watch: All community colleges exempt from new IPEDS survey

Reporting for a new Education Department data survey will be limited to institutions that “primarily” award bachelor’s degrees or higher, exempting all community colleges, including those that are mainly associate-degree institutions but offer limited baccalaureate…


Fixing the transfer process

Community colleges are widely recognized as the most affordable entry point into U.S. higher education. They enroll half of all undergraduates at some point in their academic journeys and serve as the primary access pathway…


Washington Watch: Negotiated rulemaking focuses on accountability

Negotiators return to Washington this week for the second session of the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) negotiated rulemaking committee. The panel’s first session focused almost entirely on Workforce…



Flipping out or flipping the board

Is this post AI? What textbook is that? Why are there bolded headers? Wow, that student is using the work of a scholar I came across in graduate school! Awesome or cheating? Grading online discussion…


Washington Watch: Consensus on Workforce Pell regs

A negotiated-rulemaking committee on Friday reached consensus on draft regulations to implement Workforce Pell grants that were enacted as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OB3) this summer. This is a significant, though…



Preparing community colleges for what comes next

In reflection of 2025, community colleges and higher education experienced an array of events that led institutions to reevaluate their public value proposition, student experiences, commitments, academic programs, policies, partnerships, practices and strategies for advancing…