The community college: Educating students at the margin between college and work

The authors provide background on the history and development of community colleges in the United States in the last half century and survey available evidence on the impacts of community colleges on educational attainment and earnings. They also weigh the evidence on the impact of public subsidies on enrollment at community colleges and explore some weaknesses in the current higher-education financing structure. Finally, the authors reflect on how students who have been responding to the rise in payoff to education are to be absorbed by our postsecondary training institutions.