Reports & Resources

A Major Step: What Adults Without Degrees Say About Going (Back) to College
What Adults Without Degrees Say About Going (Back) to College In an effort to help higher education institutions and other stakeholders understand the unique needs of adults who are considering...

Elevating Community College Faculty Voices
Over four years, Public Agenda partnered with the League for Innovation in the Community College (“the League”) to strengthen their capacity to be field leaders in the practice of effective...

Tackling Transfer: A Guide to Convening Community Colleges and Universities to Improve Transfer Student Outcomes
Nationally representative surveys reveal that the vast majority of students who begin community college aim to earn a bachelor’s degree, but fewer than 15 percent achieve that goal within six...

Success Is What Counts
A Community College Guide to Community Engagement & Strategic Partnerships Most often, large-scale institutional change work at colleges is viewed as an expert-driven process. It tends to go something like...

What’s Free College Got to do With Completion?
Affordability and accessibility do not equal completion. What good is free college if up to nearly three-quarters of students never finish? Originally published on InsideSources.Com (August 28, 2016) The idea of free...

Topline: New Survey Suggests Public Confidence In Higher Ed Waning
This document includes a full description of the methodology used, questions asked, and survey responses from a 2016 survey of public confidence in higher education.

Public Opinion on Higher Education: What’s the Payoff Americans Consider Problems and Promises of Higher Education
Survey results suggest public confidence in higher education is waning. Policymakers and experts overwhelmingly agree that the United States needs more people with college degrees or other postsecondary credentials. And...

The Transfer Playbook: Essential Practices for Two- and Four-Year Colleges
Fewer than one in seven degree-seeking community college students transfer and graduate with a bachelor's degree. How do we help the millions of students failed by current transfer practices and...

Understanding The Academic Calendar: A Resource Guide
Developed by the Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN), this resource helps higher-education professionals better understand definitions and terms related to the academic calendar. Public Agenda is a supporting organization of C-BEN. 2016

Questions Information Technology Professionals Should Ask About Competency-Based Education Programs
Developed by the Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN), this resource helps information technology professionals support competency-based innovation on their campuses. The questions raised in this document will ensure institutions have the...