State of the Sector for Community Colleges

EAB’s 2026 State of the Sector explores fronts the higher education sector is facing: external accountability, financial sustainability, and market relevance.

Part One: We explore why community colleges continue to hold comparatively strong public trust, yet are now encountering growing scrutiny around outcomes, workforce alignment, and program value. The session also examines the potential impact of The Workforce Pell Grant, including which institutions are best positioned to benefit from the new eligibility requirements and which may struggle to meet completion, placement, and value-added earnings metrics.

Leaders also review the financial pressures created by synchronized revenue and cost compression, as well as enrollment patterns that show improvement post-COVID but still fall short of full recovery.

Part Two: This session focuses on how rapid AI adoption is reshaping the labor market and raising the stakes for community colleges. Unlike prior technology shifts, AI is spreading faster, touching nearly every industry, and disproportionately affecting entry-level and lower-wage roles that anchor many two-year pathways.

Watch the recording to understand why AI is accelerating job displacement and mismatch, how employer adoption is being driven by enterprise mandates rather than individual choice, and what this means for program design, credentialing, and workforce alignment. This session centers on how community colleges can adapt curricula, credentials, and partnerships to prepare students for an AI-transformed economy.

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