Educating in Your Community

How colleges can build trust, diversify revenue, and strengthen enrollment pipelines

In a recent Pew Research Center survey, seven in 10 Americans said they believe higher education in the United States is “going in the wrong direction.” Today’s colleges face an uphill battle against negative public perception, as well as eroding state and federal funding and demographic changes that depress enrollment.  

In efforts to demonstrate their value to the public, meet enrollment and retention goals, and identify new revenue streams, some colleges are focusing their efforts closer to home. This report examines how colleges are offering educational opportunities to their communities, beyond their traditional students.  

This report will spotlight several programs in which colleges are meeting an educational need in their community, including: 

• An effort to create a teacher pipeline from dual enrollment to full-time student to teaching fellow at local schools. 
• A community of lifelong learners that provides senior citizens with opportunities including library access, course audits, and interaction with students and faculty members. 
• An established anchor institution that is creating a system of community education work across the university. 

Readers of this report will:

• Learn how community-education programs can demonstrate higher education's value beyond its reach of traditional students.
• Know what pitfalls to avoid in building intentional and trusting relationships with their community.
• Explore how successful programs have taken hands-on approaches to evaluating community need.

Date: December 2025
Pages: 42
Digital file size:  7.26 MB

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