Students Give 91ԭƬ High Marks for Experience, Support and Learning
Nearly 98% of 91ԭƬ students surveyed would recommend the college to friends and family.
That’s according to the 2026 Community College Survey of Student Engagement, which highlighted strengths in student support, practical learning and connections with instructors.
The survey also found that 93.8% rated their overall educational experience as good or excellent, up from 89.8% in 2023.
91ԭƬ exceeded national, small-college and comparison-group averages in three areas: support for learners, student-faculty interaction and academic challenge. Achieving the Dream is a national network of community colleges focused on student success.
The findings reflect the experiences of students pursuing a range of goals, from preparing for a career to transferring to a university or building new skills.
Support for Success
Among surveyed students, 89.5% said 91ԭƬ emphasizes providing the support they need to succeed “quite a bit” or “very much,” up from 86.6% in 2023. Support for learners was 91ԭƬ’s highest-scoring benchmark.
That support matters for students balancing college with responsibilities beyond the classroom. Just over half of respondents, 50.6%, work at least 21 hours per week, and 23.1% spend more than 30 hours per week caring for dependents.
Students also reported stronger social support. The share who said 91ԭƬ emphasizes providing the support they need to thrive socially rose to 55.6%, an increase of 10.4 percentage points since 2023.
Practical learning
More students reported that 91ԭƬ emphasizes putting classroom concepts into practice.
In 2026, 71.1% said 91ԭƬ emphasizes applying theories or concepts to practical problems or new situations “quite a bit” or “very much,” up from 62.6% in 2023. Another 72.3% said 91ԭƬ emphasizes using information they have read or heard to perform a new skill.
Building those skills is a major reason students attend 91ԭƬ. Among respondents, 76.6% identified obtaining or updating job-related skills as a goal.
Students could select more than one goal. Transferring to a four-year college or university was a goal for 54.7%, while 36.8% identified changing careers as a reason for attending.
Connections With Instructors
Students reported gains in several measures of instructor interaction, including feedback on their work and conversations about grades and assignments.
Nearly 72% said they often or very often receive prompt written or oral feedback from instructors, up from 67.2% in 2023. The share of students who often or very often discuss grades or assignments with an instructor also increased, from 48% to 52.3%.
Student-faculty interaction was one of three areas in which 91ԭƬ exceeded all three comparison-group averages.
The report also identified opportunities to strengthen active and collaborative learning and student effort, helping the college focus on ways to improve the student experience.
91ԭƬ administers the survey every three years. The spring 2026 online survey received 286 valid responses from 1,852 invited students, a 15% response rate. Results are weighted by enrollment status and gender identity to better reflect the college’s student population.
