Photo: Patrick Sison/The Associated Press

First came the good news. After taking classes at a community college, Ricki Korba was admitted to California State University, Bakersfield, as a transfer student. But when she logged on to her student account, she got a gut punch: Most of her previous classes wouldn’t count.

She's far from alone. In response, some schools and states are working to improve the community college-to-bachelor's degree pipeline with programs and policies that minimize credit loss and increase graduation rates.

A working paper recently published by the National Bureau of Economic Research suggests predominantly white institutions can learn how to better support Black students by implementing best practices from Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

The paper highlights that the “secret sauce” of HBCUs’ success comes from their emphasis on “Black identity formation,” which can boost self-confidence and academic performance; active support for students from both professors and alumni; first-year programming tailored for Black students; and more.

Yesterday was a big day for many high school seniors: the deadline for them to commit to their final college and university decisions.

Jeff Strohl of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce talks about the many components to consider when deciding which college to attend.