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Nearly 41 million American adults live 25 miles or more from the nearest university or college, or in areas where only a single community college offers accessible public higher education. This physical isolation leads to stark economic inequities, where the wealthiest 10 percent of the nation's zip codes are considered "college-rich" metro areas while a majority of the poorest zip codes are classified as rural. As employers across the country continue to struggle to fill vacancies with a workforce that does not have the postsecondary training required for the majority of the nation's future jobs, rural residents in particular face significant challenges in achieving upward economic mobility. Furthermore, the restricted access to educational opportunity impacts rural communities' economic development as they lack the business and cultural amenities that higher education institutions often generate in more densely-populated areas. Fortunately, there are several rural communities across the nation that have more recently committed to expanding postsecondary opportunities for their residents and are seeing early and exciting success due to their innovative strategies. This guidebook outlines three leading strategies that have yielded promise in four such communities--Columbus, IN; Elkhart County, IN; Rio Grande Valley, TX; Shasta County, CA--that have been designated as "Talent Hub" Communities primarily for their ability to truly work across different sectors to significantly increase college-level learning among residents of all backgrounds. Each community emphasized: (1) the importance of understanding the specific postsecondary barriers their respective populations faced; (2) the critical need for higher education to be creative in challenging its traditional methods of recruiting and serving students; and (3) needing to intentionally form partnerships between education and workforce stakeholders to lead to more positive outcomes for not only students but the community at large. This guidebook outlines these three strategies, with excerpts from in-depth conversations with each community, and concludes by sharing key recommendations and advice from these four Talent Hubs for likeminded rural communities who are interested in raising their attainment rates and revving their engines of economic growth.

This report shares the perspectives and aspirations of 17 low-income and working-class students based on interviews the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) conducted over two semesters of their college journeys. The report identifies opportunities for policymakers and institutional leaders to support all students through completion, grounded in students' experiences and the affordability challenges that they face. The students featured in the report represent the diversity of today's college-goers. Among them are Pell Grant recipients, Black, Hispanic, and multiracial students, adult students, student parents, and a veteran student. They represent different pathways to higher education and a range of educational and professional goals and ambitions. They have all made?enormous sacrifices?on their path to reach these goals, including working multiple jobs, working anywhere from four to over 40 hours a week, and accumulating both student loan and credit card debt. While the featured students are located across the country, attend different types of institutions, and represent a range of life circumstances, the?report?reveals?that many experienced similar challenges in navigating an uncertain and confusing financial aid process; paying for both the tuition and non-tuition costs associated with college; balancing the demands of school, family, and employment; making important decisions about college and program choice; and successfully transferring between institutions. The report offers concrete, actionable steps that institutions and policymakers can take to more equitably support students, including: (1) strengthening need-based aid; (2) targeting financial aid funding toward the students with the greatest need; and (3) providing greater transparency to low-income and working-class students navigating a complex higher education system.

Public flagship universities were established to provide an excellent education to state residents. These premier, well-resourced institutions are therefore ideally positioned to address the longstanding inequities in college access and completion. With proven histories of tackling societal challenges head-on, such as combating climate change and researching cures for cancer, public flagships should be working to advance social and economic mobility for students in their state. This analysis of equity at public flagship universities in the Great Lakes region reveals persistent equity gaps in access and completion for students of color and low-income students. The equity snapshots included herein present trends in enrollment and graduation rates over time at six Great Lakes flagships: (1) Indiana University -- Bloomington; (2) Ohio State University -- Main Campus; (3) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; (4) University of Michigan -- Ann Arbor; (5) University of Minnesota -- Twin Cities; and (6) University of Wisconsin -- Madison.

Public flagship universities were established to provide an excellent education to their states' residents and are therefore well-positioned to enhance social and economic mobility within their states. Yet in many cases, too few low-income students and students of color have access to these elite colleges and the opportunities they provide. This analysis of racial and socioeconomic equity at Indiana University -- Bloomington (IU Bloomington) finds large and growing gaps in college access, as well as troubling gaps in college completion, by race and socioeconomic status. To serve as a catalyst for mobility and equity for the state of Indiana, IU Bloomington must do a better job enrolling and graduating low-income students and students of color.