A mission-focused guide for considering your institution’s response.

On August 3, 2026, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon issued a national call to action asking college presidents and governing boards to publicly commit to “rigorous teaching, pathbreaking research, and national service.” College boards should consider the questions on their merit and then decide whether to respond. The principles addressed in the letter from the Secretary can serve as a grounding exercise on the mission of the institution. In a time period when community colleges discuss doubling down on their missions, it is vital that those missions are reviewed. Boards with their presidents should consider the principles appropriate to their institution’s mission: “transparency and merit in admissions;” “free speech and open inquiry;” “intellectual pluralism and academic vitality;” “affordability, value, and student outcomes;” “academic standards and rigor in the age of AI;” “safeguarding research integrity from malign foreign influence;” and “prioritizing American interests.”

The accompanying press release provides a quick guide to each of the questions and outlines the administration’s preference for colleges to respond by the end of the calendar year. Boards should consider whether a public response is useful in building dialogue with their communities, and if so, what type of response is the most beneficial. As ACCT emphasized in our initial response, this action is voluntary, and responding or not comes with neither carrots nor sticks. The administration requests institutions to post responses on the college’s homepage, but in an information session attended by ACCT staff, the administration said they would not be cataloguing the responses for public use. Colleges should consider the audience to whom they are speaking – is federal or state government officials? Students? Faculty? Employers? The service district? – and where and how is the best way to communicate with that audience.

Colleges should also consider if coordinating responses across their system, with their state association, or with regional colleges is beneficial. Those could be community colleges or regional public institutions, depending on the relationships, as set by this example from the presidential associations for these two types of institutions that serve 68% of higher education students nationwide.

For those moving forward, ACCT offers the following guide:

Start with the Community College Mission

The Secretary’s Call to Action, which, according to press articles, was framed with the input only of selective research institutions represented by the Association of American Universities, reads as targeted primarily to residential, high-dollar research universities. Community colleges are not simply two-year versions of these universities. They are open-access, locally governed, career-connected institutions built around affordability, student mobility, transfer, workforce preparation, civic learning, and community service. Boards should ensure any institutional response begins with the unique mission and goals of the community college. This statement should reflect if any changes are being made or if the college is reasserting the mission it has previously and will continue to strive for. A statement that uses the opportunity to translate the letter through the community college mission will better serve the goal of improving the understanding of the college’s role in their community.  

Steps Boards Should Take Now

1.     Begin with a robust discussion about whether and how to respond. Because the request is voluntary, boards should work with their president to first consider the value, purpose, and potential benefits of issuing a statement, including whether a response would strengthen public understanding of the college’s mission and commitments.

2.     Decide the right level for any response. Determine whether a statement should come from an individual campus, college, district, system, or state association, and ensure the approach reflects the institution’s governance structure and local context. Additionally, consider the audience(s) and avenues for communicating the response.

3.     If moving forward, identify which questions apply to the college’s mission. Consistent with ACCT’s statement, the president and board should discuss what the letter requests, which elements are voluntary, and which topics are most relevant to the college. Boards should use the response to highlight the community college mission, goals, accomplishments, and areas where it is pursuing improvement.

4.     Ask for a policy inventory. Direct the president to compile current board policies, administrative procedures, strategic priorities, and public-facing practices as well as to document existing strengths related to each of the areas in the call to action, such as admissions, free expression, program value, student outcomes, academic standards, artificial intelligence use, and external partnerships.

5.     Document existing strengths. Community colleges can credibly point to open access, transparent tuition, strong employer partnerships, transfer pathways, student success metrics, and local accountability.

6.     Identify improvements worth making anyway. If the review reveals opportunities for improvement such as outdated policies, unclear website language, weak student outcome dashboards, or uneven AI guidance, treat those as governance opportunities rather than compliance exercises. As mentioned above, response to the letter is voluntary. Senior Education Department (ED) political appointees have claimed the response will not lead to rewards for participation or funding punishments for not doing so.

7.     Adopt a concise public statement. A board-approved statement should reaffirm institutional commitments, describe ongoing practices, and identify any next steps without overpromising or politicizing the college’s work.

What the Board Statement Should Cover

• Access and admissions: Explain that community colleges are open access and what that means – all learners are eligible to attend, and the college is designed to expand opportunity for students with varied goals and backgrounds. Highlight the college’s clear admissions criteria and how the college describes these to potential applicants. Note that opaque admissions criteria at some other institutions are irrelevant in the community college context.
• Free expression, civil discourse, intellectual pluralism, and academic vitality: Consider whether these topics are central to the institution’s mission and campus context. If so, describe how the college supports lawful expression, respectful dialogue, student learning, orderly campus operations, and effective faculty. Community colleges are laser-focused on completion, transfer, and employment outcomes in partnership with regional employers, not abstract campus debates.
• Affordability, value, and outcomes: Share that community colleges are the least expensive institutions in terms of tuition and fees: only 12 percent of community college students take out federal loans. While community college tuition is low, students must still pay for the full cost of attendance, including housing, food, transportation, child care, and other basic needs. Acknowledge that due to limited state and federal funding, many low-income students still have challenges affording community college without working at least part-time. Outline how colleges work to help students support the costs. Highlight tuition transparency and financial aid support. Share the data to tell the story of your students’ positive outcomes, including transfer, apprenticeships, certificates, licensure programs, job-aligned degrees earned, and employment outcomes.
• Academic quality: Connect rigor to learning outcomes, accreditation, faculty expertise, program review, transfer success, licensure passage, and employer feedback. If applicable, acknowledge where the college is working to improve. Share the institution’s responsible AI policies that protect academic integrity while preparing students for changing workplaces.
• Foreign influence and partnerships: If the college receives gifts from foreign countries, reiterate that the college is in compliance with all federal and state laws for international collaborations.
• Workforce and national service: Show how the college supports upward mobility and regional economic development, particularly in areas most needed in the region such as health care, education, infrastructure, public safety, and small business. For rural-serving colleges, highlight how the college may be the only provider in the region. Highlight how the college’s contributions lead American business leaders to preserve and increase family-sustaining jobs in the region – instead of moving jobs to another country. Community colleges are the pillar of a strong, globally competitive American economy.

Communicate Without Turning the College into a Political Symbol

The most effective responses will be factual and locally grounded. Board chairs and presidents should emphasize evidence: tuition levels, completion rates, transfer outcomes, workforce partnerships, student supports, program review, and community impact. If responding, colleges should focus on where they are already living up to the values described in the letter and where they are working to improve. Colleges could also consider sharing goals set via strategic plans or internal review processes to demonstrate that the college is continually working for improvement.

The Bottom Line for Trustees

Boards should treat Secretary McMahon’s letter as a governance prompt and opportunity for reflection, not a mandate to reinvent the institution or accept criticisms that do not fit the community college sector. The best response begins with careful board-president discussion, a clear understanding that any institutional statement is voluntary, and a decision about whether a public response would advance the college’s mission and public trust. If a board chooses to respond, or to participate in a broader, coordinated response, it should reaffirm the college’s mission, strengthen transparency where useful, and explain plainly how the college delivers value and how it will work to maintain and increase that value. Done well, the response can keep the focus where it belongs: students, communities, and opportunity.

Carrie Warick-Smith is the Vice President, Public Policy, ACCT

Photo Credit: Getty Images