The Center's Mission
The Center, a research and service initiative of the Community College Leadership Program in the College of Education at The University of Texas at Austin, provides important information about effective educational practice in community colleges. The Center assists institutions and policymakers in using information to promote improvements in student learning, persistence, and attainment.
Surveys & Related Projects
The Center conducts a collection of national surveys:
- Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE)
- Community College Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (CCFSSE)
- Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE)
- Community College Institutional Survey (CCIS)
The Center also hosts several related initiatives:
- Initiative on Student Success
- High-Impact Practices Initiative
- Student Success BY THE NUMBERS Initiative
Contact Us
Student Voices
Kresge Foundation Supports “Improving Outcomes for Men of Color in Community Colleges”
The Center for Community College Student Engagement recently received a grant from the Kresge Foundation to deepen our work on Improving Outcomes for Men of Color in Community Colleges.
The primary goals for the project are to deepen understanding within the community college field regarding the assets and challenges that men of color bring to college with them; to lift up the student voice as central to the work; to identify institutional factors that inhibit and enhance community college progress and success for African American males and Latinos; and to assist community colleges in serving these groups, through workshops, a specially focused student success institute, a national report, and Web-based resources. Six diverse community colleges—Jackson Community College (MI), Lansing Community College (MI), Los Angeles Southwest College (CA), Los Angeles Trade Tech College (CA), Austin Community College (TX) and Tarrant County College District (TX)—will participate as the Center’s partners in the work. Many other colleges will have opportunities to participate in project activities and to take advantage of project-developed resources.
Survey of Entering Student Engagement: Register for the 2012 Administration
Focusing attention on the front door of the college—ensuring that students' earliest contacts and first weeks incorporate experiences that will foster personal connections and enhance their chances of success—is a smart investment.
Learn more about your entering students' experiences by participating in the Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE). Registration for the 2012 administration (fourth and fifth weeks of the fall academic term) is underway and closes May 1, 2012. Before registering, please review information about pricing, adding custom survey items, and other membership options. Contact the Center for assistance.
For an additional fee, all participating SENSE colleges have the option of adding up to two special-focus modules (of up to 12 items each) to the core survey. As part of the Center's newest initiative, Identifying and Promoting High-Impact Educational Practices in Community Colleges, all colleges that register for and administer SENSE 2012 (and that do not select two other special-focus modules) will automatically receive—free of charge—a 12-item module focused on a vetted list of promising educational practices.
Center Releases National Report, a First Look at Promising Practices in Community Colleges
A Matter of Degrees: Promising Practices for
Community College Student Success is the first in a series of reports by the Center for Community College Student Engagement
exploring 13 promising practices for strengthening community college student engagement and success. A Matter of Degrees presents
key findings from a multi-year Center initiative, Identifying and Promoting High-Impact Educational Practices in
Community Colleges, and brings together survey responses from entering students, experienced students, faculty, and institutions. Data sources
include results from recent Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE) and
Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) administrations, the
SENSE and CCSSE 2011 special-focus items on promising practices, and
the Community College Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (CCFSSE) three-year cohort, plus preliminary
findings from the newly launched Community College Institutional Survey (CCIS).
New Issue of Engagement Matters Features New Format and Introduces Center's High-Impact Practices Initiative
As part of the Center's ongoing efforts to improve resources and tools for member colleges, the Center has redesigned its Engagement Matters publication. Now you can learn about updates from across the Center and enjoy recurring sections focused on topics of interest such as Delving into Data (helpful tips and explanations from our research team) and College Spotlight (featured initiatives and practices from member colleges). We invite you to check out the first issue of the year, Volume 9, Issue 1, which highlights a new multi-year Center project focused on high-impact practices.