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Limited data are available on the differential impacts course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have on subpopulations of community college (CC) students, including those in allied health, career and technical education, and nursing pathways (workforce). This essay addresses CC demographics, student success, and assessment practices for CUREs.

Biology education research (BER), currently conducted mostly at four‐year colleges and universities, is changing the culture of teaching biology and improving student success. We are community college faculty participating in the NSF‐funded CC Bio INSITES network, getting training and support in BER to ask questions to improve student success in our highly diverse classes. Our research adapts and validates existing BER surveys and interventions in Hispanic‐serving college settings, with pre‐health professions’ students, and with traditionally underserved populations in STEM. BER projects serve assessment and program review goals common across many community colleges, and when implemented with high‐impact practices, BER measures the gains in student retention and success. We call for support to continue changing the culture of discipline‐based education research at community colleges.