- Persistence rates barely budge
- Iowa college re-opens after storms
- Record number of students for San Diego Promise
- Jill Biden’s nod to community college students
Persistence rates barely budge
For students who started college in fall 2018 at public two-year institutions, the persistence rate was 62.1 percent, up 0.6 percentage points from the prior-year cohort, according to a recent report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. The persistence rates in the two-year sector have generally remained flat since the 2015 cohort year, for both entering full-time and part-time students.
Not surprisingly, there remains a substantial difference in persistence between full- and part-time students. Among first-time, full-time two-year college students, the persistence rate was 69.7 percent, compared to 50.8 percent for part-time counterparts – a 19 percentage point difference.
The center defines persistence as continued enrollment or degree completion at any higher education institution — including one different from the institution of initial enrollment — in the fall terms of a student’s first and second year.
Iowa college re-opens after storms
Kirkwood Community College has re-opened most of its buildings and locations following last week’s devastating storms that damaged several buildings.
Most Kirkwood locations have reopened and are operating normally, including the registration office on the main campus. The college was closed for several days after last week’s storms knocked out power for days and damaged several buildings.
A number of the college’s facilities remain closed, including its main campus library and center for lifelong learning, but its recreation center opened Wednesday, and its locker rooms are open to students and employees for showers. The new start date for the fall semester remains August 31.
Record number of students for San Diego Promise
The San Diego Community College District reports that a record number of freshmen – approximately 2,300 – are enrolling this fall in the San Diego Promise, which provides two full years of tuition-free education in addition to support services for students who might not otherwise be able to pursue a college degree.
The new cohort joined the nearly 1,800 students starting their second year in the program when the fall semester began August 17, according to the district. Including the new group, the San Diego Promise has served more than 6,600 students since it started as a pilot program in fall 2016.
Jill Biden’s nod to community college students
Among the types of people that presidential hopeful Joe Biden fights for, even in the face of adversity, is the community college student, noted his wife, Jill, in her Democratic National Convention speech on Tuesday night.
Jill Biden – who has taught English at Northern Virginia Community College since 2009, and for 15 years prior at Delaware Technical Community College – provided composites of people who the former vice president would serve if elected president.
“For the community college student, who has faced homelessness and survived abuse, but finds the grit to finish her degree and make a good life for her kids,” she said among her examples.
Following her speech, many people took to Twitter, with several posts commenting that the former high school teacher would make a good education secretary.
