The Office of Community College Research & Leadership at Illinois conducts research & evaluation to improve community college & P-20 education for ALL learners.
Champaign
Joined March 2009
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In this Voices & Viewpoints, Lynn Breer of Lake Land College reveals how her institution connects program review with its ongoing Program Improvement & Enhancement (PIE) process, allowing faculty to enhance programs over time.
Read more: tinyurl.com/3yw6ekwh
#ProgramReview
ALT Lake Land College
Happening today on the #ILLINOIS campus at 5 p.m. CT: "Career Development for Transfer Students: Navigating Your Personal Career Path."
Learn more at careercenter.illinois.edu/no…
ALT Happy female college student e-learning on laptop at campus and looking at camera.
“A Beloved Global Community the & Imperativeness of Collective Human Flourishing in Education Research"
Join this Oct. 29 Dean’s Distinguished Speaker Series with Dr. Jerome E. Morris.
Livestream at education.illinois.edu/live
#HigherEd #EducationResearch #AERA #IllinoisEducation
📢 Featured in today’s OCCRL Network News: The Oct. 28 (at 11 a.m. CT) "Supporting Student Success Through Developmental Education Reform" webinar.
Read here: emails.illinois.edu/newslett…
#HigherEd #CommunityColleges #StudentSuccess #DevelopmentalEducation
ALT Two students writing on their classroom desks with their faces not showing.
How can community colleges make program review a tool for steady improvement rather than a once-every-5-years report? In this V&V piece, Emily Monti of John A. Logan College discusses data access, faculty engagement, accreditation & creating a "living" PR: tinyurl.com/ycjp7w8u
ALT Emily Monti
Congrats to former OCCRL grad research assistant Chauntee Thrill on her brief on community college students' experiences in NSF S-STEM programs. The piece highlights student perspectives & offers recommendations to strengthen support for STEM learners. 📖 tinyurl.com/5288nxc2
ALT Strategy brief: Evaluating S-STEM Through Student Eyes - What Students Think, Value and Engage With
A new OCCRL newsletter is out! 📬
Catch up on the latest research, projects, publications, events, and developments shaping community colleges & postsecondary education.
Read the latest issue: emails.illinois.edu/newslett…
#CommunityColleges #HigherEd #WorkforceDevelopment #Research
ALT Deana Schenk, Jenna Crenshaw, Gabrielle Haggins, and Samuel Kumi at the College of DuPage
Four years, countless lessons learned & a continued commitment to strengthening Illinois community colleges.
In this piece, H.M. Kuneyl reflects on #ForumForExcellence2026, highlighting leadership development, student success & research-driven change.🔗 tinyurl.com/4wpzuftt
ALT From left, Gianina Baker, H.M. Kuneyl, Lorenzo Baber, Hanna Kim, Oliver Ding, Yasamin Khoshpour, and Aidana Sirgebayeva at the 2026 Forum for Excellence in Normal, Illinois.
Congratulations to Dr. Terry Vaughan III on this honor! Listen to our podcast with Terry from earlier this year, "Micro-Urban Colleges, Quality Credentials, and Equity for Black Learners," at sites.libsyn.com/88798/micro….
We’re thrilled to share that our Senior Director, Terry Vaughan III, Ph.D., has been named a 2026 College of Education Alumni Award recipient by @UofIllinois ! Dr. Vaughan advances connections between education, credentials, and economic opportunity
education.illinois.edu/alumn…
OCCRL at Illinois retweeted
Illinois, Michigan and Pennsylvania last week received millions of dollars in grants to community colleges to boost workforce programs, help adults reconnect with college and support campus upgrades.
Read more: ccdaily.com/2026/09/states-p…
📸 The good-looking OCCRL crew at the Forum for Excellence is one great reason to check out today's newsletter! Another is our Oct. 28 webinar, "Advancing Developmental Education Reform: Lessons from DERA Implementation in Illinois." Get the news/updates:📬tinyurl.com/ym4zvhph
ALT OCCRL staff members at the 2026 Forum for Excellence event in Normal, Illinois.
🎙️ New on #DemocracysCollege:
Jean Greene & Lonetta Oliver discuss how community colleges can identify funding opportunities, build partnerships & secure grants that drive student success & community impact.
Listen now: tinyurl.com/mpvusrhd
#GrantWriting #Funding #HigherEd
ALT College students talking in an amphitheater
Congratulations to Dr. Terry Vaughan III on receiving the College of Education Emerging Leader Award!
Dr. Vaughan joined Gianina Baker on a Democracy’s College podcast earlier this year: tinyurl.com/4a4wy6ce
Meet all the honorees: tinyurl.com/yc3t4a7b
ALT Dr. Terry Vaughan III
How should community colleges prepare for an AI-driven future? Xinran Zhu argues that leadership isn't about chasing the latest AI tools. It's about designing learning & work systems that help people thrive alongside AI. Read more: tinyurl.com/442drapu
#HigherEd #FutureOfWork
ALT Dr. Xinran Zhu giving the keynote talk at the 2026 Illinois Community College Leadership Institute
Illinois community colleges can play a critical role in addressing workforce demands and the coming enrollment cliff.
Jim Reed makes the case for community college baccalaureate degrees as a pathway to opportunity, economic growth & student success.
🔗 tinyurl.com/ycyucbma
ALT Jim Reed, executive director of the Illinois Community College Trustees Association
How can we diversify STEM faculty pathways at community colleges?
Our latest Voices & Viewpoints blog highlights lessons from the NSF-funded Aspire Alliance Regional Collaboratives, featured in the summer issue of New Directions for Community Colleges: tinyurl.com/43f8my2p
ALT Cover of Summer 2026 New Directions for Community Colleges issue
The U of I System is expanding transfer opportunities for community college students via Transfer Drive, providing personalized guidance & financial support to help students transfer to Illinois, UIC or UIS. This & other higher ed updates in Network News: emails.illinois.edu/newslett…
ALT TransferDrive from the University of Illinois System
After 5 years with Program Review Illinois, 1 lesson stands out to Jewel Bourne: relationships are what make improvements happen. Rubrics, training and tools matter, but trust, collaboration and meaningful peer feedback are what create lasting change: tinyurl.com/4r22tyhz
ALT Jewel A. Bourne
OCCRL at Illinois retweeted
What does Terry O’Banion’s legacy offer community colleges today?
Adrienne Provost, Deborah L. Floyd, Cynthia Wilson & Kelli Listermann connect six decades of his work to challenges facing the field today.
Free through Sept. 30: tinyurl.com/tks8k5u8
Congrats to grad assistant Jeongsan Hwang on the publication of "Disability in Adult Education: A Literature Review Since the Field's Inception" in Adult Ed Quarterly! A finding: only 15 disability-focused articles among 4,801 published in 3 top journals: tinyurl.com/59zwnnt5
ALT Diverse team discussing ideas during a meeting with a whiteboard presentation.