ABSTRACT
Public broad access universities play distinct and vital roles in promoting regional and local educational opportunities. Using data from the U.S. Department of Education, Census Bureau, and Bureau of Economic Analysis, this chapter describes the demographic, educational, and economic profiles of the commuting zones served by public broad access universities. Because these universities draw students from (and produce graduates for) local and regional areas, we explore these communities in depth and provide vignettes of colleges – and their places – that ultimately shape opportunity. By situating colleges in their local and regional contexts, this chapter identifies new ways to examine the role geography plays in understanding public broad access universities.
