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EDUCATION PHILANTHROPY DIVISION OF ASCENDIUM EDUCATION GROUP
Exploring and explaining rural-serving higher education institutions and the roles they play regionally across the U.S. is the focus of the Alliance for Research on Rural Colleges (ARRC), co-directed and co-founded by App State’s Dr. Andrew Koricich.
As a research collaborative and resource hub, ARRC’s four co-directors aim to build research infrastructure, produce data-driven analysis and educate a range of audiences about the role of regional, or rural-serving, institutions. Graduate students at ARRC’s partner institutions will serve as research assistants for the alliance’s projects.
Koricich, an associate professor of higher education in the Reich College of Education’s Department of Leadership and Educational Studies, said this hub’s contributions are important because regional colleges “play a transformative role in rural communities across the country by providing educational opportunity, workforce development and economic impact to areas with so much untapped human potential.”
ARRC’s first report, published Jan. 26 on the ARRC website, examines the status of public colleges in rural communities during the COVID-19 pandemic and recommends actions federal policymakers can take to support these institutions — both during and after the COVID crisis. The second report, currently underway, aims to develop an evidence-based, research-backed definition for rural-serving institutions.
Read the full article at Appalachian Today.