Community colleges play a crucial role in providing access to postsecondary education pathways among historically marginalized groups, particularly young people aging out of foster care. 

But new evidence suggests that some community college administrators may be neglecting and overlooking the specific challenges and complex barriers these students face. For example, more than 90 percent of Illinois students under state care fall short of completing any degree while enrolled at a community college.

Illustration: Jason Hoffman/The Chronicle

Inflation, enrollment woes, and increasing intolerance of tuition increases are making this budget season especially difficult for colleges and universities.

In decades past, leaders might have mitigated precarious budgets by raising tuition, but that’s a hard row to hoe in 2023. The public narrative about student debt and the high price of college makes it difficult for any but the most in-demand institutions to increase tuition right now.

Roxbury Community College opened its doors 50 years ago. The school, which was founded to serve students of color, came into being through the activism of Black residents.

Reporter John Bender looks back at the history of Roxbury Community College and the challenges it faces at an existential moment for higher education. Jackie Jenkins-Scott, who serves as the school's interim president, joins the conversation.