Despite a national spotlight on college costs, return on investment, access and completion, loan forgiveness, and many other high-profile higher education issues, a new report shows that Americans still think highly of community colleges—and more than half think they are underfunded.

New America’s annual “Varying Degrees” survey finds that 85 percent of polled Americans believe community colleges are worth the cost, compared to 66 percent of those who feel the same about public four-year colleges.
 

Cameron Driggers, who is gay, lives in Florida and plans to study business administration in the fall at the University of Florida. The decision to attend college in Florida, which has passed a slew of anti-LGBTQ+ laws under governor and Republican presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis, wasn't an easy one. 

But the anecdotes and statistics about LGBTQ+ college students leaving Florida obscure an important caveat: Not everyone has the means to move out of state.
 

Building on the success of a $140 million investment, Michigan is making community college free to hundreds of thousands more students by expanding its Michigan Reconnect program.

The state is trying to address a shortage of qualified workers by providing classes to people who otherwise cannot afford them. Michigan Reconnect offers tuition-free community college to adults with no postsecondary education.