When people talk about higher education, they often limit their discussion to four-year institutions and traditional 18- to-22-year-old college students. But that focus ignores a large part of the story: the expansive and crucial role played by community colleges, especially in educating nontraditional students. To give some sense of their reach, there are more than 1,000 community colleges around the country, and together they enroll more than 40 percent of all undergraduates. Many of those students are ones who are often not as well served by four-year institutions, including adult learners, those from low-income families, single parents, first-generation students, and veterans.
