Community Colleges Must Remain Resilient by Design

AACC releases report on impact of external influences on the nation's two-year colleges

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Resilient by Design, a new report from the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), calls on the nation's community colleges to reimagine long-term planning strategies to address external influences and ensure they continue to meet the needs of students, communities, and the workforce pipeline.

"Our colleges are being called to navigate seismic demographic shifts, economic realignments, political divides, and the accelerating influence of technology," said DeRionne Pollard, AACC's president and CEO. "In these challenges lies an extraordinary opportunity: to reimagine how community colleges serve students and society, and to lead transformation across the higher education landscape."

"The rapid and continuous pace of the external changes that we all face requires us to consider new ways of responding," said Leigh Goodson, AACC's board chair and president of Tulsa Community College. "The board of directors recognized the urgency of identifying the influences and, more importantly, ways in which we can rethink how we react to those changes with resilience and innovation."

The AACC Board of Directors commissioned the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) to conduct the research and the resulting information is captured in AACC's Resilient by Design report.

The report identifies evolving technology, shifting political climates, and the growing need for skilled workers as influences and provides various perspectives on ways to address them. 

• Leadership capacity must expand. Presidents and leaders are now expected to be fundraisers, policy navigators, cultural change agents, and data-informed strategists.
• Innovation in models and tools is urgent. Budgets must be strategic, business models must be reimagined, and ROI must be proven—not only to funders and policymakers, but to the students and communities we serve. Community colleges must claim their role as engines of economic vitality and social mobility, advancing both immediate workforce needs and long-term wealth-building for students.
• Policy engagement must be deepened. Federal advocacy remains essential, but the daily realities of our institutions are shaped by state and regional policy.
• Employer engagement must become transformational to ensure that students are prepared for family-sustaining wage jobs that lead to long-term careers.

Pollard continued, "The report itself helps to contextualize the myriad forces that impact our colleges and a call to action for college leaders to become the architects of success models for students and institutions."

In the coming weeks, toolkits and resources will be available to community colleges to begin to assess external factors that impact programs and services and guides them in creating innovative solutions while navigating an evolving landscape.

"This report arms presidents with an environmental context and framework to use within their organizations and communities for redesign and transformation," Pollard said. "While the work needed is urgent, the opportunities will benefit the colleges and the sector for generations to come."

The report may be accessed at www.aacc.nche.edu/about-us/governance/resilient-by-design/.

About AACC
As the voice of the nation's community colleges, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), delivers educational and economic opportunity for more than 10 million diverse students in search of the American Dream. Uniquely dedicated to access and success for all students, AACC's member colleges provide an on-ramp to degree attainment, skilled careers, and family-supporting wages. Located in Washington, D.C., AACC advocates for these not-for-profit, public-serving institutions to ensure they have the resources and support they need to deliver on the mission of increasing economic mobility for all. https://www.aacc.nche.edu/

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SOURCE American Association of Community Colleges