Open Campus is building an investigative team focused on American community colleges, the most local and least-covered part of higher education. The national nonprofit organization, established more than six years ago to embed higher-ed reporters in local newsrooms, sees the project as an extension of its mission to ensure communities and individuals have the independent information they need to support thriving local economies and lives.
At a time of remarkable upheaval in work and education, 8.5 million Americans — two out of five of all undergraduates — bet their futures on community colleges every year. Yet many people lack the information they need to make smart choices or push for better outcomes. When these institutions fail students, entire communities lose pathways to prosperity.
Over the next four years, Open Campus will establish investigative partnerships with local newsrooms across the country to produce accountability reporting on community colleges. As part of this work, the organization will pilot new ways for its journalism to reach and connect with local audiences and assemble an advisory council to guide the project’s direction and help measure success.
More details on newsroom partners and products are coming soon. The work is made possible, in part, through a grant from Arnold Ventures.
About Open Campus
Open Campus is a nonprofit news organization that ensures communities have the independent information they need about higher ed. By placing expert reporters in local newsrooms across the country, we help people understand and influence the institutions that shape their futures.
Founded in 2019, we now work with 18 newsroom partners. We’re supported by funders spanning journalism and higher education, including Arnold Ventures, the Lumina Foundation, and the American Journalism Project.