Today, we ( @ARRC_Research) released our report, “Strengthening Rural Anchor Institutions: Federal Policy Solutions for Rural Public Colleges and the Communities They Serve,” a project supported by @JoyceFdn.

Want to see some data? Yes you do!
(1/10) https://twitter.com/arrc_research/status/1354064586102738947

In it, we look at 118 rural public colleges and highlight the important role they play in their communities, both as educational institutions and as community hubs for supporting employment, public health, the business community, the arts, and more. (2/10)

Here are some of the findings that I found most interesting:

Rural public colleges span the nation. Our definition was pretty focused, and we still had institutions across 39 states, including Alaska and Hawai’i. (But which state had the largest number? Oklahoma!) (3/10)

Despite the common narrative that rural institutions are shrinking, we saw strong growth at many institutions and found that, collectively, bachelors degree production has *increased* in recent years for this group. (4/10)

We saw similar increases in associates degrees and certificates awarded, suggesting that many rural colleges also serve as community colleges and career tech schools for their region and that these roles are increasing. (5/10)

We also learned that no conversation about rural higher ed can be complete without a conversation about Native American students. 90% of 4 yr TCUs and NASNTIs are rural, and enrollments are disproportionately rural too. (6/10)

But consistent with what we might expect, rural institutions are having to do more with less... even less than other public institutions. (7/10)

And recent reports have shown that COVID has really hammered rural communities in recent months. (8/10)

Many institutions have had to make big cuts, often eliminating staff positions, reducing salaries, or furloughing workers. That’s always hard, but there’s reason to believe it’s even harder for rural institutions. (9/10)

So what should we do? Well, read our report! In it, we offer policy recommendations and additional context for how to support rural public colleges. I hope you’ll check it out!

Thank you to everyone who supported us in this work!