ACCJC Publications

ACCJC regularly shares thought papers and insights on topics shaping the future of higher education and two-year institutions. Our recent publications highlight areas such as student success, workforce development, and educational outcomes, with more resources coming soon.

Publications
Leveraging Program Level Data to Strengthen Student Outcomes: A Framework for ACCJC Institutions (published January 2026) This white paper offers the Commission’s perspective on the growing importance of program‑level return on investment (ROI) data in shaping the future of higher education. Building on ACCJC’s 2025 integration of an institutional ROI metric into its Student Achievement Dashboards, the paper explains why programmatic ROI is emerging as a critical tool for transparency, student success, and public accountability. While institutional‑level metrics provide a broad overview, program‑specific outcomes offer a more precise and actionable understanding of how individual fields of study contribute to students’ long‑term economic mobility. The white paper highlights key federal data sources, outlines how colleges can use program‑level outcomes to inform strategic decision‑making and improve programs, and situates this work within the shifting national policy landscape, including new outcomes‑based expectations under the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
ACCJC ROI Metric Methodology (published August 2025) In August 2025, ACCJC launched its Student Achievement Dashboards and Return on Investment (ROI) Metric, key tools that reflect the Commission’s ongoing commitment to transparency and institutional improvement. This document provides an overview of the ROI Metric methodology.
Building a Future-Ready Workforce: Highlighting Best Practices in ACCJC Member Institutions (published July 2025) ACCJC member institutions engage in hundreds of partnership programs spanning a broad range of sectors and arrangements, each of which demonstrate the vital role two-year institutions play in maintaining and growing a strong economy. While each program in ACCJC’s membership is compelling, this paper focuses on five robust partnerships that highlight the innovation, responsiveness, and community connection of our member institutions. For more examples of innovative, productive industry collaborations, please see Partnership Snapshots: Workforce Collaborations Across ACCJC Member Institutions.
Navigating the Value Landscape for Accreditation (published November 2024) Evaluation of students’ post-graduation economic outcomes is essential for understanding the effectiveness of educational institutions in preparing students for the workforce or future academic pursuits. Metrics that assess these outcomes help students, educators, and policymakers make informed decisions. The goal of this whitepaper is to present current initiatives that evaluate the value of college education and its long-term return on investment (ROI) for students and to recommend a reasonable post-enrollment metric that can be incorporated into the institutional reflection and accreditation process for ACCJC member institutions.