• POLICY RESOURCES RCCA Policy Agenda The RCCA seeks to promote federal and state policies that will position and fund rural community colleges as catalysts and coordinators of community development leading to sustainable regional economies. That goal is based on the conviction that rural community colleges offer a unique, "place-based" capacity to engage rural people, institutions and communities in the process of building and sustaining better places to live, learn, work, and grow. RCCA seeks formal recognition -- in federal and state policies and practices -- of the significant role community colleges play in workforce training and community economic development. Read the full statement of goals, principles and strategies (  , 14.8KB), developed by RCCA's Policy, Research and Advocacy Committee. |
| MSP Brief: Communities How Rural Community Colleges Develop Their Communities and the People Who Live in Them by Michael T. Miller, Ed.D. and Courtney C. Tuttle. The quality of life in rural America has a great deal to do with the opportunities rural citizens have. These opportunities include the professional work place as well as culture, exposure, access, and a sense of community. State and local governments invest heavily in the formation of an economic livelihood for rural societies, but rarely invest in the less tangible area of social development. In specific, the personality characteristics and identity of individuals in the rural setting are often at odds with attempted economic development initiatives, meaning that while big or small business or manufacturing can be lured to rural areas, rarely is the work force prepared, either in terms of technical skills or in terms of attitudes and beliefs about work ethic. Therefore, the preservation of rural America is strongly linked to the government's ability to provide opportunities for a satisfying and meaningful quality of life. (available HERE) |
MSP Brief: Athletics The Importance of Intercollegiate Athletics at Rural-serving Community Colleges, by Cindy Castaneda, Stephen G. Katsinas, and David E. Hardy. This issue brief presents results of a national census of intercollegiate athletics at U.S. community colleges based upon a 2004 doctoral dissertation completed by Cindy Castaneda at the University of North Texas under the direction of Stephen G.Katsinas. This dissertation was recently published by the MidSouth Partnership for Rural Community Colleges and used IPEDS assigned unique identification numbers (UNITID) to combine data from the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 administrations of the Equity in Athletic Disclosure Act, IPEDS, and the 2005 Basic Classifications published by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The result was a comprehensive overview of athletics at public community colleges excluding special use institutions, tribal colleges, and two-year under 4-year colleges. (available HERE) |
| MSP Brief: Finances The Downward Spiral of State Funding for Community Colleges, and Its Impact on Rural Community Colleges, by Billy C. Roessler, Stephen G. Katsinas, and David E. Hardy. A wide divergence exists in the patterns of revenue for community colleges across the 50 states. The downward spiral of state funding is unmistakable, however. At a time when community college operating budgets should expand to accommodate higher enrollments that follow larger numbers of studentsgraduating from high school and to provide a transfer function that includes both general and technical education, state funding has declined. (available HERE) |
MSP Brief: Housing On-Campus Housing: A Boon to Rural Community Colleges The Benefits of Community College Involvement in On-Campus Housing, by Pat G. Moeck, Stephen G. Katsinas, and David E. Hardy. This issue brief presents selected results of a national study of on-campus housing at U.S. community colleges from Pat G. Moeck's 2005 doctoral dissertation recently published by the MidSouth Partnership for Rural Community Colleges, completed under the direction of Stephen G.Katsinas. Most community colleges with on-campus housing serve rural America. The federal Higher Education Act of 1965 requires colleges and universities that wish to submit and receive federal grants and distribute federal student financial aid to submit data on an annual basis to the U.S. Departmentof Education via the National Center for Education Statistics' Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). (available HERE) |
| MSP Brief: Nursing The Role of Rural-Serving Community Colleges and Tribal Colleges in Expanding Pathways to Nursing and Allied Health Careers,by Mary Beth Reid, Stephen G. Katsinas, and David E. Hardy. To better study challenges, barriers, and opportunities related to career pathways in nursing and allied health professions in rural America, our study employed a mixed-method research design. In Phase I, U.S. Department of Education IPEDS data was analyzed to identify specific characteristics of the nursing students at all U.S. community colleges and, more specifically, at the 24 rural-serving community colleges that participated in the Ford Foundation's Rural Community College Initiative. (available HERE) |
MSP Brief: Student Aid The Critical Role of Financial Aid for First-Time/Full-Time Students Enrolling at Rural-Serving Community Colleges, by David E. Hardy and Stephen G. Katsinas. This issue brief presents results of an analysis of student financial aid and loan disbursement at U.S. community colleges based upon data from a 2005 doctoral dissertation completed by David E. Hardy at the University of North Texas under the direction of Stephen G. Katsinas. The data are drawn from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Student Financial Aid (SFA) cohort study survey related to the number and percentage of first-time, full-timedegree-seeking students who have been documented as receiving various types of student financial aid and accessing student loans through enrollment at publicly-controlled two-year community and technical colleges during the 2000-2001 fiscal year. (available HERE) |
RCCI policy briefs, published by MDC: Toward Rural Prosperity: A State Policy Framework in Support of Rural Community Colleges, by J. Parker Chesson Jr. and Sarah Rubin. This paper advises states on ways to strengthen rural community colleges, making them catalysts for greater educational access and rural prosperity. (available HERE ) |
Preserving Access with Excellence: Financing for Rural Community Colleges, by Stephen G. Katsinas, King F. Alexander, and Ronald D. Opp. This paper examines community college finance issues from three perspectives: trends in institutional support over the past half-century; tuition and financial aid policy; and the impact of state funding formulas on rural colleges. It makes policy recommendations to increase access to college for low-income students and recommendations to strengthen rural colleges and enhance local economic development. (available at HERE ) |
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This group of rural community college presidents meets annually to discuss issues concerning rural colleges with AACC staff and federal agency representatives. Presidents interested in joining the Roundtable can contact Lynn Barnett, AACC's Vice President for Academic, Student, and Community Development at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
Rural America At A Glance, a brochure published by USDA's Economic Research Service, highlights social and economic conditions in rural areas. It is the first in a series of reports that will highlight important population, labor market, income, and poverty trends in rural areas. The brochure's text, charts, and maps display trends clearly and concisely. (ERS Rural Development Research Report No. RDRR97-1, September 2003.) Available on line at http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/rdrr97-1/ . |