Community College Publications and Resources

Released by the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) and TICAS in collaboration with the California Community Colleges’ Chancellors Office (CCCCO), this report takes a unique look at federal and state financial aid, academic preparation, and college transfer and completion for students across California’s 113 community colleges.

Nearly one million community college students across the nation are denied access to federal student loans, the safest and most affordable way to borrow for college, because their school chooses not to offer them. Our report includes national and state-by-state analyses of loan access by race/ethnicity and urban/non-urban status in 2015-16, and explores notable trends in California, North Carolina, and Louisiana.

This report documents California community college students’ struggles to cover college expenses beyond tuition, their experiences with financial aid, and the troubling tradeoffs they face when available resources do not stretch far enough. Consistent with a growing body of national research showing that students’ ability to pay for non-tuition costs is central to their academic progress and success, the report includes results and personal stories from TICAS’ survey of thousands of California students, as well as key facts about community college students’ costs, aid, and outcomes both nationally and in California.

The recently announced White House plan elevates the universal need for some post-secondary education in today's economy and the need to make college affordability a national priority. The White House plan differs significantly from Tennessee's and other "free community college" plans and addresses many, but not all, of those plans' limitations.

Blog post on the "America's College Promise." Details of the White House plan are becoming available and make clear it differs significantly from the Tennessee Promise and other "free community college" plans. In particular, the White House proposal is not a "last-dollar" scholarship. Instead, it provides additional federal funding to states that make key reforms, including not charging tuition or fees at community colleges. It is aimed squarely at stopping state disinvestment in public colleges, which is crucial to making college more affordable.

Protecting Colleges and Students, released by the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) and the Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS), takes a unique look at student loan default at nine community colleges across the nation, and how those colleges are working to help students avoid default.

In 2013-14, nearly one million community college students across the nation were denied access to federal student loans, the safest and most affordable way to borrow for college. Our report includes national and state-by-state analyses of loan access by race/ethnicity and urbanicity, and takes an in-depth look at North Carolina, California, and Georgia.

Some community colleges have expressed concerns that their students borrow more than they need in federal loans. However, the data do not support claims of "over-borrowing" at community colleges. The vast majority of community college students do not borrow federal loans at all, and the few who do borrow do not take out large loan amounts.

Blog post reviews the recent letter from the U.S. Department of Education addressing the participation rate index appeal for low-borrowing colleges, with TICAS urging the Department to publish borrowing rates alongside default rates and allow low-borrowing colleges to appeal their rates in any year.

This tool helps colleges with low borrowing rates understand whether they may qualify to appeal CDR sanctions.

Letter to U.S. Under Secretary of Education Martha Kanter with recommendations on how provide context for cohort default rates (CDRs) to consumers, journalists, and colleges for the for the upcoming release of two-year CDRs for fiscal year 2010 (FY10) and three-year CDRs for fiscal year 2009 (FY09).

Our issue brief found that more than one million community college students were denied access to federal student loans, the safest and most affordable way to borrow for college.

Letter in support of AB 970 (Fong), which would provide first-year tuition and fee benefits to Cal Grant B recipients.