Community College Pathways
Community colleges are powerful engines for economic and social opportunity
Nationwide, there are more than 1,000 community colleges that enroll over 10 million students—which is 41% of all undergraduates in the United States. Within Pennsylvania, the majority of students aspire to transfer into a four-year institution to complete a baccalaureate degree but fewer than one in three students ultimately achieve this goal.
We supports community colleges in:
- Expanding access to credentials of value
- Offering workforce training and reskilling
- Promoting equity and social mobility
- Serving as community hubs
- Providing transfer pathways into four-year institutions
School of Education Initiatives
The University of Pittsburgh School of Education is a national hub for research, partnerships, and initiatives that advance the mission of community colleges. We provide training and leadership development, student scholarships, and academic programs that prepare our graduates to strengthen pathways into, through, and beyond community colleges.
The School of Education’s Community College Research, Praxis and Leadership (CCRPL) program encompasses a broad range of activities aimed at advancing the mission and vision of the School through scholarly inquiry, the application/implementation of theoretical knowledge into practical action, and stewarding collaborating efforts to expand access, inclusion, and student success.
CCRPL endeavors allow the School to generate knowledge, inform practice within community colleges, translational research, professional development, leadership training, and institutional partnerships. As community colleges play a critical role in the educational landscape, CCRPL seeks to build strong relationships with community colleges, bolster equitable transfer pathways, and implement leadership initiatives locally and on a broader scale.
Held every summer, the annual Transfer Pathways Summit brings together higher education professionals, researchers, and students from across Pennsylvania and neighboring states to focus building smoother, smarter, more student‑centered transfer pathways.
Past summit themes:
- Maximizing Transfer Value: Fueling Student Mobility and Success (2026)
- Building Bridges and Facilitating Student Mobility (2025)
- Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges, and Paving Pathways (2024)
Each academic year, the School of Education awards five, $5,000 scholarships to students who have transferred from a community college into a bachelor’s-degree program in the School of Education. Scholarship recipients have represented each bachelor’s degree program in the school and have earned their associate’s degree at two-year institutions across Pennsylvania and neighboring states.
With the support of the PRRC, the School of Education is pursuing curriculum mapping to ensure seamless transfer of credit hours earned at the community college toward the undergraduate programs at the School of Education. The goal is to ensure that no student experiences credit loss.
Graduate Certificate
The School of Education will soon offer a 12-credit, fully online graduate certificate in community college leadership. Designed for higher education professionals, the program provides advanced training in purposeful leadership in community colleges, strategic communication, workforce development and community college partnerships, postsecondary student learning and development, and current issues in higher education.
Microcredential
The School of Education will also soon offer a 6-credit, fully online graduate microcredential in community college leadership. This two-course program will introduce students to a foundational understanding of the unique nature of the community college sector. The credits earned in this program are stackable and can be applied toward the graduate certificate in community college leadership.
Council for Study of Community Colleges
Based in the School of Education, the CSCC is an affiliate of the American Association of Community Colleges. Members include university-based researchers and community college practitioners who further scholarship on the community college enterprise.
CSCC Highlights
- PRRC Founder Dr. Eboni M. Zamani-Gallaher is Executive Director of the CSCC
- Hosts annual conference attended by hundreds of community college scholars and professionals from around the world.
- Creates and shares knowledge through webinars, reports, and other publications
American Talent Initiative
The University of Pittsburgh is part of the American Talent Initiative (ATI), a national community of practice of over 135 universities and the Aspen Institute, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and Ithaka S + R.
ATI seeks to expand access and opportunity for low- and moderate-income students at colleges and universities nationwide.
ATI highlights
- PRRC Founder Eboni M. Zamani-Gallaher is the Designated Senior Leader for Pitt’s efforts.
- The University of Pittsburgh is part of a small group of universities leading major community college-focused initiatives within ATI
- Effort is grounded in current state of community college transfer access and success and will involve community college partner institutions
