Here’s a good article on Community Colleges in Time Magazine:
http://time.com/4800811/the-case-for-community-college/?iid=sr-link1
A few excerpts:
"Across the nation, community colleges–which educate about 40% of all undergraduates in the U.S.–are facing declining enrollment and tightened budgets. Even as officials hold them up as the answer to bridging America’s yawning blue-collar-skills gap, many are ill equipped to deliver on the promise. Less than 40% of community-college students graduate, and many drop out their first year. While more than 80% of two-year students say they want a bachelor’s degree, only 14% get one after six years.”
"The importance of two-year schools was routinely emphasized by President Obama, who called for making community college free in 2015. But the proposal faced opposition from the Republican-led Congress and went nowhere. Despite winning a majority of rural votes in 2016, President Trump has barely discussed two-year schools, while proposing a 13% cut for the Department of Education, a plan that could make it even more difficult for the nation’s most vulnerable schools to serve their students.”
"To many education-policy experts, the poor graduation and job-placement rates at most community colleges are the result of asking underresourced schools to serve underresourced students. Students often work part or full time to afford tuition, and many are parents. Too many schools, meanwhile, lack robust counseling departments or career-services offices to keep students on track, let alone affordable on-campus child care.”
“Pierce College in Washington State has dramatically increased its graduation rates by mandating a college-success course, doubling its tutoring services and allowing faculty members to see how many students complete each course.”