Higher Education Governance and the Attainment Agenda: Arrangements With Benefits for Community Colleges?

Objective: This study of higher education governance had three questions: (a) How does higher education attainment policy vary in type, quantity, and focus across state governance arrangements? (b) How do per capita income, population, educational development, and higher education regional compact combine with state-level higher education governance to influence attainment policy production? and (c) How does the arrangement of higher education governance shape the contribution of community colleges to foster improved state educational attainment? Method: The study employed a mixed-methods case-based research design utilizing data from the Boosting College Completion data set and McGuinness’s classification of community college governance to calculate descriptive statistics. Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) compared the 50 states, with each case having five conditions previously found to be critical in policy formation. Results: The study found that the absence of a governing board was most influential in attainment policy outputs. State contextual conditions previously found to influence higher education policy production were not critical. The study’s findings suggest that governing board states may underutilize community colleges in raising overall college completion and educational attainment through a mismatched policy environment. Contributions: These findings are foundational for an expanded research agenda focused on community college governance, leadership, and advocacy practices. Future research should examine the policy environment mismatch of governing board arrangements and how to expand the role of community colleges in the college completion agenda