What Can Happen When Community College Practitioners Lead Research Projects? The Case of CUNY

Although the majority of college freshmen enroll at community colleges, very few research studies focus on this context. In addition, what research does exist often overlooks important practitioner concerns, such as instruction. In this article we argue that supporting generalizable education research conducted by community college practitioners can address this gap. We seek to start a conversation about the benefits of such research, to both the education research community and to educational practices at community colleges. We draw on findings from a large community college system where this kind of research has been systematically supported for the last 15 years.