Community colleges are more essential than ever, argues a new book by five researchers from the Community College Research Center at Columbia University’s Teachers College.

The book draws on a decade of research on guided pathways reforms at more than 100 community colleges. The pathways movement has been driven by the need for more structure for students and more intentional support for career choices and educational planning. As that work evolves, the authors say community colleges must not only remove barriers to completion but also strengthen pathways to student goals after graduation.

We asked three of the book’s coauthors two big questions about what’s next. Below is the resulting exchange with Davis Jenkins, Hana Lahr, and John Fink.

Q: How does rising state and federal interest in nondegree credentials change the stakes for the pathways movement?

Short answer: Interest in short-term credentials raises the stakes for the pathways movement. It’s not enough to guide students to completion—we must ensure completion leads to living-wage jobs or further education that does. Without sustaining degree programs alongside fast-start training, we risk quick wins at the expense of long-term workforce readiness.

Longer answer: The surge in federal and state interest in short-term, nondegree credentials raises the stakes for the pathways movement. It’s no longer enough to guide students to completion—the goal must be completion that leads directly to a living-wage job or further education that does the same.

Too few community college short-term programs currently open doors to high-opportunity fields. Those that do often prepare students for physically demanding jobs—truck driving, welding, linework—that, while decent paying, offer limited long-term career paths. The result: many short-term completers are no better off, and sometimes worse off, than if they hadn’t enrolled.

Meanwhile, emerging technologies such as AI, smart devices, and heat pumps are driving demand for entry-level technicians in healthcare, engineering technology, advanced manufacturing, and building and construction technology. Short-term training can provide a foothold to living-wage jobs in these sectors, but the best-paying, most advancement-friendly roles require more than short-term training. 

Community college career-technical associate degrees (e.g., nursing, engineering technology) and applied baccalaureates—reverse-engineered with employers, emphasizing mastery of technical fundamentals, and embedding work experience—remain the strongest ticket to sustainable, family-supporting careers. Community colleges award over 185K of these degrees annually in well-paying, high-demand technology fields, but that number falls short of projected demand.

On paper, many short-term programs are “stackable,” offering credit toward a degree while advancing employability. In reality, very few students stack credentials this way—often because programs aren’t designed for working adults, and colleges lack the guidance and support structures to help them navigate education while employed.

In the book, we describe how leading colleges are building “learning-and-earning” career ladders that:

  • Map skills for entry and advancement in high-demand fields,
  • Embed relevant work experience, and
  • Support students in stacking credentials seamlessly while working.

Scaling these models is expensive, requiring sustained employer partnerships, targeted advising, and K-12 collaboration to build a future talent pipeline. Workforce Pell and new state funding could help fund short-term training to enable students to get a foothold in these fields—but if these dollars come at the expense of funding for students to pursue further career-technical education, we risk trading quick wins for long-term setbacks in preparing students for family-sustaining jobs and meeting workforce needs.

Q:  What can help ensure that dual enrollment is sustainable for community colleges and beneficial to the career exploration of high school students?

Short answer: The vast majority of dual enrollment is introductory, general education college courses, but demand is growing for career-technical pathways that lead to good jobs after high school. With intentional design and sustainable funding, CTE dual enrollment can be a powerful engine of both upward mobility and workforce growth.

Longer answer: Nearly 2.5M high school students take college courses each year, with community colleges providing 70% of them. The vast majority of these courses are in general education—English composition, college algebra, psychology—that are generally accepted for lower division elective credit for bachelor’s degrees. This works well for academically prepared students headed straight to a four-year campus.

But there’s growing demand—from students and families, employers, and policymakers—to expand dual enrollment into career-technical pathways that lead to good jobs and further education while students work after high school. Employers in health care, advanced manufacturing, IT, engineering technology, and skilled trades are starting to see this as an opportunity to make earlier connections to future workers. Policymakers see CTE-focused dual enrollment as a lever to strengthen local economies and boost postsecondary attainment. Demand for CTE-focused dual enrollment is especially high in rural communities.

Despite the growing interest, career-technical dual enrollment is still underdeveloped. Students in high school CTE programs rarely use it to start an associate degree, apprenticeship, or applied bachelor’s program in their chosen field. Too often, what’s offered amounts to “random acts of course-taking” rather than intentional sequences aligned to programs leading to high-value credentials. This is a missed opportunity—especially for first-generation, low-income, and other underserved students who could benefit most from early momentum in a career pathway.

In our book we describe our research on colleges that are working with high schools to use dual enrollment as an onramp to career-connected education and training after high school. This approach involves:

  • Integrating college courses into high school CTE programs and career academies,
  • Offering course sequences that apply directly to high-demand CTE programs,
  • Partnering closely with underserved middle and high schools to expand opportunities, and
  • Embedding career exploration and college advising into coursework.

Done right, this approach can let students graduate from high school with a year or more of college credit toward a credential that employers value—and that graduates can stack into higher degrees while working. One promising approach to building CTE dual enrollment at scale is for colleges to embed related college courses into the default curriculum for high school CTE programs and career academies. 

The challenge is funding. Most states don’t fully offset the revenue community colleges lose by offering dual enrollment free or at reduced cost to students and families. Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas provide promising models—tying funding to dual enrollment coursework that provides an on-ramp to career-connected postsecondary education and training after high school. Without sustainable funding, the promise of CTE dual enrollment will remain out of reach for the students who need it most.