Introduction

In the United States, many higher education institutions were founded with the intention of preparing their students both as workers and as active participants in American democracy.¹ Today, community colleges are particularly well placed to carry out this mission because of their broad reach and diverse student populations as well as the critical roles they play in their neighborhoods. 

More than 6.4 million students—approximately 40 percent of the nation’s undergraduates—attend 1,100 American community colleges.² These schools reflect a substantial and diverse slice of the higher education population. Large numbers of enrollees come from working-class, first-generation, immigrant, and racially diverse backgrounds—many populations that have historically been marginalized in the American political system.³ About 30 percent of students at two-year institutions are 25 or older, compared with nearly 19 percent of students at four-year schools.⁴ A large portion of enrollees hold full-time jobs and manage caregiving responsibilities on top of their course loads while commuting to class instead of living on campus.⁵ 

Whether enrollees plan to transfer to four-year institutions, complete apprenticeships and workforce certifications, or earn continuing education credits, community colleges can improve students’ economic mobility and opportunity. Because a large majority of community college students stay close by after graduation,⁶ these educational institutions also play a key role in strengthening economic development in their regions at large. 

However, these institutions also provide other vital but often under-recognized benefits to their broader neighborhoods. For example, community colleges can help support greater health and well-being by combating loneliness and promoting feelings of belonging at a time when about half of Americans between 18 and 34 report “rarely” or “never” spending time with community members in person.⁷ Community colleges can also directly reduce disease prevalence by training local health care workers. Open-access schools act as pillars of civic life and resilience, reducing crime through increased employment or improving local infrastructure such as housing and transportation.⁸Community colleges can also act as a meeting ground or “third space” where residents may access free Wi-Fi, regularly attend lectures or documentary screenings, take low-cost art classes, or bring their children for affordable extracurricular activities. While many four-year institutions offer similar benefits, the barriers to access—both culturally and financially—are often much higher. 

In these ways, community colleges are connected to the daily fabric of their neighborhoods. Lena Jones, a faculty member in the political science department at Minneapolis College, said, “It’s not like we’re this island of people from someplace else and are disconnected from the surrounding area. We’re part of the community.”⁹ Natalie Furlett—the vice president of member and student engagement at Campus Compact, a nonprofit focused on civic engagement in higher education—echoed this idea. As she put it, “A [student’s] professor might be their neighbor,” and there’s a unique “synergy” that happens in these schools, where most people are not “coming in from the outside” but are “of the community.”¹⁰ Elgin Community College history Professor Antonio Ramirez mentioned that every time he and his fellow faculty members interact with the medical system in their town, they are almost always treated by someone who trained at their community college.¹¹

Perhaps because of the strength of these personal ties as well as the broad benefits and educational opportunities that community colleges offer their regions, these schools are often seen very positively by the public. At a time when most of America’s civic institutions face low levels of trust, nearly half of Americans have “a great deal or quite a lot of confidence” in community colleges, compared with just 33 percent who feel that way about four-year universities.¹² Ramirez mentioned that these schools don’t feel like “distant bastions of elitism.” They’re places where someone might say, “I know those people, I’ve relied on them for services. My kid goes there, and my parents went there, too.”¹³

Given their strong public image, local benefits, diverse student body, and foundational civic missions, community colleges hold a vital position in American democracy. These institutions can act as trusted, nonpartisan sites for engagement and participatory renewal at a time when public trust in government is at historically low levels, and 78 percent of Americans polled said they see “serious threats to the future of democracy.”¹⁴ On campus and in classrooms, students and residents can expand their knowledge of government and politics, practice advocating for themselves and others, hone their leadership capacity, and participate in civic discourse by engaging with ideas and perspectives different from their own. Many community college students already are deeply connected and involved in their neighborhoods.¹⁵ Through their education, inside and outside the classroom, enrollees can gain new tools and skills that allow them to deepen their contributions as local leaders, volunteers, and civic constituents. 

Many community colleges have invested in their capacity to offer this kind of democratic education, hosting initiatives like voter registration drives, opening centers dedicated to volunteering and community engagement, and providing service-learning opportunities through which students apply classroom-based lessons to real-world volunteering or internship positions. However, in recent years, community colleges have also faced significant barriers to implementing civic programming—in part due to the limited capacity of professors and students, decreasing resources, and an increase in political polarization. 

Despite these challenges, many higher education leaders are committed to supporting civic education and engagement. This was evident in our discussions with more than 30 experts, organizers, faculty members, and administrators during a convening hosted by New America’s Political Reform program in June 2025, as well as in several individual qualitative, semi-structured interviews. Faculty members and administrators spoke in their own capacity—not on behalf of their institutions—and expressed interest in growing civic spaces and experimenting with innovative engagement models such as civic assemblies on campuses. Several experts and practitioners shared their beliefs that these efforts are essential for students’ development, the health of their communities, and the strength of our broader democracy. As Yolanda Watson Spiva, the president of the national nonprofit Complete College America, put it in a separate report, “We cannot be a stratified nation in which some college students prepare for civic leadership while others get the implicit message that democracy will not require either their time or their talent.”¹⁶

This report examines how leaders can best accomplish these goals and realize the civic mission and civic opportunities embedded in community colleges. It outlines the current state of engagement at community colleges, explores existing obstacles, and makes recommendations on how leaders can build nonpartisan programming, foster innovative experimentation, and build even stronger institutions of American democracy. 

Ultimately, these suggestions are aimed at helping community colleges become ​​Participatory Campuses—places where students and residents not only develop a civic education and skill set but also learn how to apply that training to create concrete change in their own neighborhoods and institutions.