Community colleges, which are located in or near virtually every community across our nation, provide pathways to careers through workforce education and training aligned to in-demand sectors, and they serve as the primary hub for workforce and economic development in many communities. In addition to providing high-quality occupational certificates and credentials, associate’s and, in some cases, bachelor’s degrees, community colleges are leaders in delivering dual or concurrent enrollment programs to high school students, with enrollment in such programs growing.  Community colleges also participate as eligible training providers in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Title I workforce development system, and design and lead career and technical education programs. They are excellent and affordable springboards to a bachelor’s degree and beyond by preparing students to transfer to a four-year institution of higher education—or, increasingly, by offering bachelor’s degree programs of their own.

Facts at a Glance

The rapid evolution of community colleges can make it challenging to track them in national statistics because they do not fit neatly into a single category.  To identify community colleges in the National Center for Education Statistics’ Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), we consider an institution of a higher education to be a community college if it is publicly controlled, and either awards only associate‘s degrees and certificates or awards associate degrees, certificates, and bachelor’s degrees, but less than 50 percent of the credentials it awarded in the prior school year were bachelor’s degrees.  We also consider Tribal colleges and universities chartered by Tribal governments to be community colleges if they meet either of these latter criteria.

Institutions

• During the 2020-21 school year, there were 1,022 community colleges, representing about 28.1 percent of the institutions of higher education that participated in one or more federal student aid programs authorized by the Higher Education Act of 1965 in that year.

Enrollment

• During the 2020-21 school year, 8,871,746 students attended community colleges, representing about 43.7 percent of undergraduate students enrolled in the United States that year.  Most of those students (72.2 percent) were enrolled part-time.
• Community colleges have diverse student bodies.  During the 2021-22 school year:
• 6.4 percent of community college students were Asian;
• 12.4 percent were Black;
• 26.3 percent were Hispanic;
• 0.9 percent were Native American or Alaska Native;
• 0.4 percent were Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander;
• 4.0 percent were Two or More Races; and
• 44.0 percent were White.

Credentials

• During the 2020-21 school year, community colleges awarded 859,826 associate degrees, 619,708 certificates, and 30,067 bachelor’s degrees.
• The majority of associate and bachelor’s degrees awarded by community colleges were in the following fields, in this order:
• Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities;
• Health Professions and Related Programs;
• Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services;
• Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies; and
• Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services.

Finances

• During the 2021-2022 school year, the average in-district tuition and required fees for a full-time community college student were, respectively, $3,307 and $671.  About 32 percent of community college students received Pell Grants and 13 percent received federal student loans.

Community College Initiatives

Raise the Bar: Lead the World is the U.S. Department of Education's call to action to transform education and unite around what truly works—based on decades of experience and research—to advance educational equity and excellence.  It includes two initiatives that are particularly relevant to community colleges:

Raise the Bar: Unlocking Career Success is an interagency initiative that reimagines how our nation’s high schools prepare all students to thrive in their future careers. This joint effort across the U.S. Departments of Education, Labor, and Commerce will support public and private sector leaders, government agencies, and other community-based organizations to help students earn postsecondary degrees and industry credentials that our employers need, and our economy demands.

Raise the Bar: College Excellence and Equity is an initiative carried out in collaboration with partners at the state and national levels, institutions of higher education, and other stakeholders to invest in inclusive institutions, highlight proven approaches, and expand transparency to help students make good choices and to help colleges improve.

Free Community College is President Biden’s FY 2025 budget proposal to ensure eligible first-time students and workers wanting to reskill can enroll in a community college to earn a degree or credential for free. Students enrolled in a degree or certificate program, attending at least half-time, and making satisfactory academic progress would have tuition and fees eliminated. Students would be able to use the benefit over three years and, if circumstances warrant, up to four years, with the recognition that many students’ other financial responsibilities can make full-time enrollment cost prohibitive.

Research

The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) in the U.S. Department of Education is the nation's leading source for rigorous, independent education research, evaluation and statistics.  IES has made several notable investments in research to identify strategies that can improve the outcomes of students attending community colleges.

Access

The Accelerating Recovery in Community Colleges Network (ARCC) focuses on strategies for helping students to enroll in and return to college after the COVID-19 pandemic. The ARCC Network Lead is conducting two research studies:

• Enrollment and Transfer Trends – This study builds on National Student Clearinghouse data to provide regular reports on postsecondary enrollment and outcome trends across all degree granting postsecondary institutions in the United States
• Spending of Federal Recovery Funds – This study focuses on support for college access during the pandemic, relying on data from the U.S. Department of Education’s Education Stabilization Fund portal as well as a Survey of Pandemic Relief Spending and Recovery Strategies conducted by the Network.

Members of the ARCC Network are carrying out related projects:

• Evidence to Inform Improvement: Supporting California Community Colleges in Pandemic Recovery is assessing pandemic recovery efforts undertaken by California Community Colleges to address declines in enrollment and to support student persistence and degree attainment.  Additional information about this ARCC Network project is available here.
• Leveraging Technology and Engaging Students: Evaluating Covid-19 Recovery Efforts in the Los Angeles Community College District is exploring  and evaluating the effects and impacts of online and hybrid course on the outcomes for students attending California’s largest community college district. Additional information about this ARCC Network project is available here.
• Strengthening Virginia's Pandemic Recovery Efforts: Providing High-Quality Community College Workforce Education to Underserved Adults is assessing the Virginia Community College system’s last-dollar scholarship initiative targeting low-income students in workforce programs in five high-demand fields.  Additional information about this ARCC Network project is available here.

Success

• The College Completion Network was active between 2017 and 2022 and included six projects focused on strategies to increase completion of postsecondary credentials at open- and broad-access institutions like community colleges. The network’s research reports are available in the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) database here.
• An Experimental Evaluation of Corequisite Developmental Education in Texas found significant positive benefits for English corequisite developmental education courses offered by community colleges in Texas. Findings from this project are available on ERIC here.
• Effective Advising for Postsecondary Students is a What Works Clearinghouse™ (WWC) practice guide that provides four evidence-based recommendations for designing and delivering comprehensive, integrated advising to support students’ educational success.
• Designing and Delivering Career Pathways at Community Colleges is a WWC practice guide that provides five specific recommendations for supporting occupational skills training through career pathways at community colleges.

Equity

• The Men of Color College Achievement Project developed and tested a first-year success course and mentoring program for male students of color starting postsecondary education at the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC).

Federal Funding Opportunities for Community Colleges

Competitive grant programs for which community colleges are eligible extend across the federal government. While not an exhaustive list, this compilation highlights dozens of competitive grant programs in the U.S. Department of Education and other federal agencies that are available to community colleges.

U.S. Department of Education

Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education

• The Native American Career and Technical Education Program awards competitive grants to Tribes, Tribal colleges and universities, Alaska Native entities or schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Education to support secondary and postsecondary carer and technical education (CTE) program.
• The Perkins Innovation and Modernization Grant Program awards grants to identify, support, and evaluate evidence-based and innovative strategies and activities to improve and modernize CTE and ensure workforce skills taught in CTE programs align with labor market needs.
• The Tribally Controlled Postsecondary Career and Technical Education Program awards discretionary grants to Tribally controlled postsecondary career and technical institutions that do not receive assistance under Title I of the Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities Assistance Act or the Navajo Community College act.

Office of English Language Acquisition

• The English Language Acquisition: National Professional Development Program awards grants to public and private nonprofit institutions of higher education (IHEs) and public and private entities with relevant experience and capacity, in consortia with state educational agencies (SEAs) and/or local educational agencies (LEAs) to implement pre-service and in-service professional development activities intended to improve instruction for English learners.

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

• The High School Equivalency Program awards grants to IHEs and private nonprofit organizations to help migrant and seasonal farmworkers and members of their immediate families obtain the equivalent of a high school diploma and gain employment or begin postsecondary education or training.
• The College Assistance Migrant Program awards grants to IHEs and private nonprofit organizations to assist students who are migratory or seasonal farmworkers or members of their immediate families enrolled in their first year of undergraduate studies.
• The Indian Education Professional Development awards grants to IHEs, LEAs, Tribes or Tribal organizations, and SEAs to increase the number of qualified Native American individuals in professions that serve Native Americans and to provide training to qualified Native American individuals to become teachers and administrators.

Office of Postsecondary Education

• The Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) makes grants to IHEs and other public and private nonprofit institutions and agencies to improve postsecondary education opportunities.  FIPSE grant competitions have included the Basic Needs Program, which provides grants to eligible institutions to support programs that address the basic needs of students and to report on practices that improve outcomes for students and the Postsecondary Student Success Program, which awards grants to improve postsecondary student outcomes, including retention, transfer, credit accumulation, and completion, by leveraging data and implementing, scaling, and rigorously evaluating evidence-based activities.
• The Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions Program provides grants to eligible Alaska Native-serving institutions and Native Hawaiian-serving IHEs to improve and expand their capacity to serve Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians.
• The American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities Program provides funds to Tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) to improve and strengthen the academic quality, institutional management, and fiscal stability of eligible institutions.
• The Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions Program provides grants and related assistance to Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions to improve and expand their capacity to serve Asian Americans and Native American Pacific Islanders and low-income individuals.
• The Augustus F. Hawkins Center of Excellence (Hawkins) Program awards grants to establish centers of excellence at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), TCUs, or Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) with a State-accredited teacher preparation program to help increase the number of well-prepared teachers, including teachers of color, resulting in a more diverse teacher workforce.
• The Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) (Title V) Program awards grants to help HSIs expand and improve opportunities for Hispanic students. The grants expand and enhance their academic offerings, program quality, and institutional stability.
• The Hispanic-Serving Institutions Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (HSI STEM) and Articulation Programs award grants to HSIs to increase the number of Hispanic and other low-income students who attain degrees in STEM and to develop a model transfer and articulation agreement between institutions.
• The Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program awards grants to address barriers that help reduce the entry of minorities into science and technology fields to minority IHEs, including two-year public or private non-profit IHEs that award associate degrees that have curricula that include science and engineering subjects and enter into a partnership with a four-year minority IHE.
• The Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions Program provides grants to Native American-serving, nontribal IHEs with an enrollment of undergraduate students that is not less than 10 percent Native American students to improve and expand their capacity to serve Native American and low-income individuals.
• The Predominantly Black Institutions - Competitive Grants Program awards grants to Predominately Black Institutions (PBIs) to establish or strengthen programs that increase an institution’s capacity to prepare students for instruction.
• The Strengthening Historically Black Colleges and Universities Program (Title III, Part B)  awards grants to eligible HBCUs to assist them in strengthening their academic, administrative, and fiscal capabilities.
• The Strengthening Institutions Program (Title III, Part A) helps IHEs that meet certain eligibility requirements become self-sufficient and expand their capacity to serve low-income students by providing funds to improve and strengthen their academic quality, institutional management, and fiscal stability.
• The Transitioning Gang-Involved Youth to Higher Education Program awards grants to partnerships between community colleges and public or private nonprofit organizations, community-based organizations (CBOs), industry partners, or other entities with a demonstrated record of working successfully with youth who are gang-involved to leverage services to support students in acquiring the knowledge, skills, and abilities to transition into an education beyond high school.
• The Language Resource Centers Program provides grants to IHEs for establishing, strengthening, and operating centers that serve as resources for improving the nation's capacity for teaching and learning foreign languages through teacher training, research, materials development, and dissemination projects.
• The Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program awards grants to IHEs to plan, develop, and carry out programs to strengthen and improve undergraduate instruction in international studies and foreign languages.
• The Educational Opportunity Centers (EOCs) Program awards grants to IHEs, public and private agencies and organizations including community-based organizations with experience in serving disadvantaged youth, and others to provide counseling and information on college admissions to qualified adults who want to enter a program of postsecondary education. EOCs also provide services to improve the financial and economic literacy of participants.
• The Student Support Services Program awards grants to IHEs to provide opportunities for academic development, assist students with basic college requirements, and to motivate students toward the successful completion of their postsecondary education.
• The Talent Search Program awards grants to IHEs, public and private agencies and organizations including community-based organizations with experience in serving disadvantaged youth, and others to identify and assist individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds who have the potential to succeed in higher education. The program provides academic, career, and financial counseling to participants and encourages them to complete high school and continue on to and complete their postsecondary education.
• The Upward Bound Program awards grants to IHEs, public and private agencies and organizations including community-based organizations with experience in serving disadvantaged youth, and others to provide academic instruction, counseling, and other services to support participants in their completion of high school and preparation for postsecondary entrance and success. The program serves high school students from low-income families; and high school students from families in which neither parent holds a bachelor’s degree.
• The Upward Bound Math/Science Program awards grants to IHEs, public and private agencies and organizations including community-based organizations with experience in serving disadvantaged youth, and others for activities designed to help students recognize and develop their potential to excel in math and science and to encourage them to pursue postsecondary degrees in math and science.
• The Veterans Upward Bound Program awards grants to IHEs, public and private agencies and organizations including community-based organizations with experience in serving disadvantaged youth, and others to assist veterans in the development of academic and other requisite skills necessary for acceptance and success in a program of postsecondary education.

Other Federal Agencies

U.S. Department of Agriculture

• The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative – Education and Workforce Development initiative awards grants to develop the next generation of research, education, and extension professionals in the food and agricultural sciences.  Workforce training at community colleges is one of the program areas in which grants are awarded.
• The Hispanic-Serving Institutions Education Grants Program awards grants to IHEs that have a minimum of 25 percent undergraduate full-time Hispanic enrollment for activities that promote and strengthen their ability to carry out higher education programs in the food and agricultural sciences.– The goal is to promote and strengthen the ability of Hispanic-Serving Institutions to carry out higher education programs in the food and agricultural sciences.

U.S. Department of Defense

• The Department of Defense Research and Education Program for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions Program invites applications from IHEs, including community colleges, that are HBCUs eligible under Title V of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) or minority-serving IHEs eligible under Title III of HEA for research and education programs that enhance research and engineering capabilities in areas important to national defense, increase the number of graduates in STEM disciplines, and encourage research and education collaborations with other IHEs and with defense organizations.

U.S. Department of Labor

• The Strengthening Community Colleges Program awards grants to community colleges to increase their ability to provide equitable access to training to meet employers’ and workers’ skill development needs for in-demand industries.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

• The NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review Evaluation System (NSPIRES) is a searchable database of NASA grant opportunity solicitations for research in science and technology projects.

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

• The Bridges to the Baccalaureate Research Training Program awards grants to partnerships between at least two IHEs, at least one of which must offer the associate degree as the highest STEM degree, and at least one of which offers baccalaureate degrees in biomedically relevant STEM fields.  Grant funds must be used to provide structured activities to prepare a diverse cohort of research-oriented students to transfer from associate degree-granting institutions to baccalaureate degree-granting institutions and complete a baccalaureate degree in disciplines related to the biomedical sciences.-

National Science Foundation (NSF)

• The Advanced Technological Education Program supports partnerships between two-year IHEs, other academic institutions, industry and other entities to improve the education of technicians in science and engineering.
• The Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Directorate for STEM Education (IUSE:EDU) initiative awards grants to IHEs and their associated organizations for projects to improve STEM teaching and learning for undergraduate students, including studying what works and for whom and how to transform institutions to adopt successful practices in STEM education.
• The NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) Program awards grants to IHEs, including community colleges, for projects that enable low-income students with academic ability, talent or potential to pursue successful careers in promising STEM fields. Recognizing that financial aid alone cannot increase retention and graduation in STEM, the program provides awards to IHEs not only to fund scholarships, but also to adapt, implement, and study evidence-based curricular and co-curricular activities that have been shown to be effective supporting recruitment, retention, transfer (if appropriate), student success, academic/career pathways, and graduation in STEM.
• The Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program awards grants to IHEs to supports active research participation by undergraduate students in any of the areas of research funded by NSF.

U.S. Department of Transportation

• The Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Operator Safety Training Grant Program awards grants to IHEs and other educational institutions for projects that seek to reduce the severity and number of crashes on our nation’s roads involving CMVs by expanding the number of commercial driver’s license (CDL) holders possessing enhanced operator safety training. The priority set by Congress is to assist entities that recruit and train current or former members of the U.S. Armed Forces, including the National Guard and Reservists, and their spouses in obtaining a CDL.

Student Scholarship and Internship Opportunities

U.S. Department of Defense (DOD)

• DOD Internship Programs offer students enrolled in educational institutions ranging from high school to graduate school gain the experience of working for DOD and ability to explore the many opportunities that the Department of Defense has to offer.

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

• The Community College Internships Program provides community college students paid internships that give them the opportunity to expand their technical skills and expertise while exploring their career pathways in STEM. 
• Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships give undergraduate students, including community college students, or recent graduates the opportunity enhance their skills and knowledge at a DOE national laboratory using state-of-the-art facilities and advanced scientific instruments.  

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• EPA’s Opportunities for Students and Recent Graduates provides information about paid internships, fellowships, and recent graduate positions that provide an introduction to the work at EPA and may lead to permanent employment.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

• The HHS Internship Program gives students the opportunity to participate in a paid internship to gain work experience while in school.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

• The Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium First Nations Launch competition offers TCUs, Native American-Serving Nontribal IHEs, as well as active American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) collegiate chapters the opportunity to demonstrate engineering and design skills through direct application in high-power rocketry. The competition requires teams of undergraduate students to conceive, design, fabricate, and compete with high-power rockets.
• The NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars Program gives community college students opportunities to participate in a self-paced online course, educational simulation experiences, and a week-long robotics competition.

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

• The Academic Internship Program gives students at community colleges and 4-year IHEs opportunities to intern in the NIH Intramural Research Program during the academic year.
• The Community College Summer Enrichment Program gives community college students opportunities to perform a summer research internship in the Intramural Research Program at NIH.

Smithsonian Institution

• The Smithsonian Institution’s Office of Internship Programs provides information about paid internships at Smithsonian museums and institutions.