“America’s 600 publicly controlled rural community and tribal colleges celebrate doors that they alone open. They provide access to general education for transfer; for-credit technical, vocational and occupational programs of 12 months to two years in duration that lead to high-skill, high wage jobs; workforce training; and they provide community services, serving as regional cultural centers for the performing and fine arts.”
Why Rural Community & Tribal Colleges Matter
The Agriculture Act of 2014 signed into law by President Obama on February 8, 2014 reauthorizes U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs responsible for the development of rural areas of our country. Since the 1930s, USDA’s Rural Development Division only recognized our nation’s great network of land-grant universities. Section 6018 of the bipartisan Agricultural Act of 2014 for the first time formally designates the Secretary of Agriculture to work with the nation’s 600 rural community, technical, and tribal colleges to coordinate effective rural development strategies and foster rural regional innovation.
Section 6018 was submitted by the Rural Community College Alliance to key members of the U.S. House and Senate Agriculture Committees, based upon assistance received from the Education Policy Center. More than 14 different programs within USDA’s Rural Development Division are impacted, with the goal of combining revenue streams to uplift rural economies, which, as the chart below indicates, host community colleges that themselves have been slow to recover from the Great Recession.
Dr. Stephen Katsinas, director of the Education Policy Center and professor of higher education at The University of Alabama, recently received the George Autry Award from the Rural Community College Alliance for his lifelong commitment to scholarly research, advocacy and service to America’s rural community colleges.
During his 20-year career in higher education, Katsinas’ research and service have focused on the challenges faced by rural community colleges and the ways in which policymakers and practitioners can lift up the lives of rural people and create sustainable rural communities through the improvement of these institutions.
“It is seldom that someone so young receives a ‘lifetime’ achievement award. Dr. Katsinas has brought much deserved recognition on himself, but at the same time has brought recognition to our College and University,” said Dr. Jim McLean, dean of the UA College of Education.
February 2016
On Opportunity’s Fault Line: The Precarious Nature of Community College Finance
Stephen G. Katsinas, Michael S. Malley, Jake L. Warner
This report looks at 1,002 urban, suburban, and rural community colleges reporting financial data to IPEDS to answer questions such as why do a record number of state community college leaders report that rural community colleges face great fiscal strain, why has the problem worsened at rural community colleges during the economic recovery, despite the increased need for access to associate degree programs and the more expensive, high-skill
training programs business and industry demand, and how can state and federal policy help these engines of rural regional innovation lift up America’s most precious asset, its human capital?
February 2014
Leveraging Federal Funding Streams to Build Rural Economies
Stephen G. Katsinas, Ryan P. Hofman, Louis E. Shedd, J. Lucas Adair, Jonathan P. Koh, Michael S. Malley, James E. Davis, Janice N. Friedel, Mark M. D’Amico
This issue brief presents what key state-level community college leaders believe are issues facing their rural community colleges and the relative importance they believe an array of federal programs are to their colleges, based upon a national survey of all 51 members of the National Council of State Directors of Community Colleges, presents the results of a national census of community colleges and the critically important role played by on-campus housing, and highlights several examples of innovative partnerships to leverage
diverse federal funding streams to accomplish the larger goal of regional
rural uplift, and, in particular, to show how on-campus housing can be a
powerful tool for USDA/Rural Development to spur other federal funding
streams to meet critical rural workforce training needs.
2003
Preserving Access with Excellence: Financing for Rural Community Colleges
Stephen G. Katsinas, F. King Alexander, Ronald D. Opp
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Explore “Preserving Access with Excellence: Financing for Rural Community Colleges” by Stephen G. Katsinas, King F. Alexander, and Ronald D. Opp to understand the financial challenges facing rural community colleges in the United States. This policy paper highlights how declining state funding and rising tuition impact access and excellence for 1.8 million students at 731 rural community colleges. It also offers recommendations for reexamining funding models and adjusting financial aid policies to better reflect the real costs of attending college, including transportation and childcare.
August 1994
George C. Wallace and the Founding of Alabama’s Public Two-Year Colleges
Stephen G. Katsinas
To understand the origins of Alabama’s public two-year colleges, explore “George C. Wallace and the Founding of Alabama’s Public Two-Year Colleges” by Stephen G. Katsinas. This article, originally published in The Journal of Higher Education in 1994, details Governor Wallace’s pivotal role, his political strategies, and the legislative battles that led to the creation and expansion of these institutions. Discover how these colleges became a significant part of Alabama’s educational landscape, reflecting the state’s political and social dynamics during a transformative era.