The Community College at the Crossroads: The Need for Structural Reform

1991 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 311-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Dougherty
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Community College ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
Educational Aspirations ◽  
Family Background ◽  
Baccalaureate Degree ◽  
State Universities ◽  
Alternative Route ◽  
Bachelor's Degrees ◽  
Four Year Colleges

Community colleges offer many students an alternative route to achieving a baccalaureate degree. In this article, Kevin Dougherty analyzes data on these institutions to see how effective they are in helping students transfer to and succeed in four-year colleges. After controlling for differences in family background, high school record, and educational aspirations of students entering two- and four-year colleges, the author finds that community college entrants receive fewer bachelor's degrees. While finding a strong case for reform, Dougherty argues that present reformers need to keep in mind the comprehensive nature of the community college and be sure that their reform proposals will preserve rather than diminish the services it offers students. Dougherty then discusses two sweeping reforms: transforming community colleges into four-year colleges, and converting them into two-year branches of state universities.

scholarly journals Inside the Math Trap: Chronic Math Tracking From High School to Community College

2020 ◽  
pp. 004208592090891
Author(s):  
Federick J. Ngo ◽  
David Velasquez
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Community College ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
High Schools ◽  
Urban Community ◽  
Educational Experiences ◽  
Transition To College ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
Urban Community Colleges

Examining linked academic transcripts from urban community colleges and their feeder high schools, we identify math course-taking patterns that span sectors. We highlight stifled mobility and chronic repetition of math coursework in the transition to college, and we identify “math traps” from which students do not escape. Math mobility was limited, math repetition was rampant, and nearly half of students found themselves in math traps. All else equal, being trapped in math was significantly linked to race/ethnicity, suggesting that these forms of chronic math tracking across sectors expose previously undocumented forms of inequality in educational experiences.

Understanding Determinants for STEM Major Choice Among Students Beginning Community College

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-251
Author(s):  
Colleen A. Evans ◽  
Rong Chen ◽  
Ryan P. Hudes
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
High School ◽  
Community College ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
Community College Students ◽  
College Major ◽  
Major Choice ◽  
Science Laboratory ◽  
Advanced Mathematics ◽  
Stem Major

Objective: This study explored how high school and postsecondary academic parameters may relate to the choice of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) major for students beginning their postsecondary education at community colleges. Our study incorporated these two clusters of factors into a statistical model to examine STEM major choice in community colleges. In particular, our study was one of the first to examine the direction and magnitude of the relationship between earned college credits in science laboratories and advanced mathematics and STEM college major selection. Method: We analyzed national data from the Education Longitudinal Study (2002) for students who were in 10th grade in 2002, entered community college as their first postsecondary institution, and declared a college major by 2006. A comprehensive integrated model was analyzed through binary logistic regression with the outcome variable of choice of STEM major or not. Results: We found math self-efficacy in high school, postsecondary introductory science laboratory courses, and postsecondary advanced mathematics courses were each positively associated with the choice of STEM major among community college students. Gender continues to be influential, with women less likely to pursue STEM than men. Contributions: Our study highlights the opportunities the science laboratory holds for engaging beginning community college students interested in STEM fields. The linchpin role of mathematics and science for students aspiring to study STEM is underscored by the findings of this study.

scholarly journals Do Community Colleges Provide a Viable Pathway to a Baccalaureate Degree?

2009 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bridget Terry Long ◽  
Michal Kurlaender
Keyword(s):  
Community Colleges ◽  
Instrumental Variables ◽  
Baccalaureate Degree ◽  
Public Higher Education ◽  
Detailed Data ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Baccalaureate Degrees ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Multiple Strategies ◽  
Bachelor's Degrees

Community colleges have become an important entryway for students intending to complete baccalaureate degrees. However, many question the viability of the transfer function and wonder whether students suffer a penalty for starting at 2-year institutions. The authors examined how the outcomes of community college entrants compared with those of similar students who initially entered 4-year institutions within the Ohio public higher education system. Using a detailed data set, the authors tracked outcomes for 9 years and used multiple strategies to deal with selection issues: propensity score matching and instrumental variables. The results suggest that straightforward estimates are significantly biased, but even after accounting for selection, students who initially began at community colleges were 14.5% less likely to complete bachelor’s degrees within 9 years.

scholarly journals College on the Cheap: Consequences of Community College Tuition Reductions

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey T. Denning
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Community College ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
College Enrollment ◽  
First Year ◽  
College Tuition ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Experimental Variation ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Over Time

This paper examines the effects of community college tuition on college enrollment. I exploit quasi-experimental variation from discounts for community college tuition in Texas that were expanded over time and across geography for identification. Community college enrollment in the first year after high school increased by 5.1 percentage points for each $1,000 decrease in tuition, which implies an elasticity of —0.29. Lower tuition also increased transfer from community colleges to universities. Marginal community college enrollees induced to attend by reduced tuition have similar graduation rates as average community college enrollees. (JEL H75, I22, I23, I28)

Are Community Colleges an Alternative Path for Hispanic Students to Attain a Bachelor's Degree?

2009 ◽  
Vol 111 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana Melguizo
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Community College ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
Hispanic Students ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Bachelor's Degree ◽  
Institutional Characteristics ◽  
High School Senior ◽  
Senior Class ◽  
School Senior

Background/Context This study contributes to the longstanding debate over whether community colleges democratize education or divert students from attaining a bachelor's degree. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study The objective of this study is to determine whether Hispanic students have a lower chance of earning a bachelor's degree (B.A.) if they transfer from a community college. Population/Participants/Subjects This study uses the High School and Beyond Sophomore sample (HS&B/So) high school senior class of 1982 and the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS:88/2000) high school senior class of 1992 to compare the progress of two samples of “traditional” Hispanic transfer and Hispanic “rising junior” students. The final sample is composed of 220 students from the high school senior class of 1982 and 140 students from the high school senior class of 1992. Research Design Regression analysis is used to identify the effect of being a transfer student on B.A. attainment, after controlling for individual characteristics and institutional characteristics of the community college. Simulation analysis is used to identify the factors that affected B.A. attainment in the 1980s, which are used to predict B.A. rates a decade later. Findings/Results The results show that the negative impact of being a transfer student in the 1980s had disappeared within a decade. The results suggest that the relatively lower attainment rate of Hispanic transfer students is the result of individual characteristics and lack of academic preparation rather than institutional characteristics. Conclusions/Recommendations Although community colleges have the potential to be an alternative path toward a B.A., until transfer rates increase, Hispanics may be better off beginning their college education at a 4-year institution.

Baccalaureate Expectations of Community College Students: Socio-Demographic, Motivational, and Contextual Influences

2013 ◽  
Vol 115 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xueli Wang
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
High School ◽  
Community College ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
Community College Students ◽  
Academic Integration ◽  
Educational Expectations ◽  
Educational Goals ◽  
Motivational Beliefs

Background/Context Although much research has dealt with the factors that influence educational expectations, few studies have addressed recent high school graduates who attend community colleges as their first postsecondary institutions. As the costs associated with attending a four-year institution keep rising, community colleges increasingly serve as an affordable entry for many socioeconomically underprivileged students who aspire to earn a bachelor's degree and above. The question of sustaining these educational expectations—an essential precursor to the actualization of educational goals—becomes even more important knowledge to pursue. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study This research investigates socio-demographic, motivational, and postsecondary contextual factors underlying community college students’ baccalaureate expectations. The study highlights various influences affecting these educational expectations of community college students, thus improving the understanding of the relationship among student backgrounds, motivational beliefs, college experience, and the development of baccalaureate expectations. Population/Participants/Subjects This study is based on a nationally representative sample of spring 2004 high school seniors who were part of the second follow-up study of the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS: 2002) and who enrolled in a community college as their first postsecondary institution within two years of graduation from high school. Among the 12,500 students of the 2004 senior cohort who completed the second follow-up interview, roughly 3,000 students who attended community colleges as their first postsec-ondary institutions were selected as the study's sample. Research Design The proposed conceptual model was tested by using structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis. After fitting the SEM model for the entire sample and assessing its overall fit, a multiple group analysis was used to ascertain whether the structural model is invariant across gender groups. Findings/Results Results indicate that community college students’ baccalaureate expectations two years after high school were directly and positively influenced by their initial baccalaureate expectations during the high school senior year and their academic integration during the first year of college, but were negatively associated with the number of subjects for remedial work they received. In addition, socio-demographic backgrounds, parental expectations, and motivational beliefs of students indirectly affected subsequent baccalaureate expectations by directly influencing initial expectations. Motivational beliefs also exerted a direct effect on college academic integration, which in turn contributed to students’ subsequent baccalaureate expectations. Conclusions/Recommendations This study illuminates the importance of cultivating positive motivational beliefs, promoting academic integration, and improving remedial practices to help community college students move further toward their educational goals. This knowledge should help community college leaders seek innovative ways to better streamline student choices in alignment with their educational expectations.

Effects of Reduced Community College Tuition on College Choices and Degree Completion

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-71
Author(s):  
Riley Acton
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
College Credit ◽  
For Profit ◽  
College Tuition ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
College Choices ◽  
Bachelor's Degrees

Recent efforts to increase college access and completion concentrate on reducing tuition rates at community colleges, but researchers and policymakers alike have expressed concern that such reductions may not lead to long-term gains in college completion. In this paper, I use detailed data on students' college enrollment and completion outcomes to study how community college tuition rates affect students' outcomes across both public and private colleges. By exploiting spatial variation in tuition rates, I find that reducing tuition at a student's local community college by $1,000 increases enrollment at the college by 3.5 percentage points (18%) and reduces enrollment at non-local community colleges, for-profit institutions, and other private, vocationally-focused colleges, by 1.9 percentage points (15%). This shift in enrollment choices increases students' persistence in college, credit completion, and the probability that they transfer to and earn bachelor's degrees from four-year colleges.

“The Rules Change”: Exploring Faculty Experiences and Work Expectations Within a Drifting Community College Context

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-135
Author(s):  
Edna Martinez
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
Baccalaureate Degree ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Service Research ◽  
Community College Baccalaureate ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Faculty Experiences ◽  
Baccalaureate Degrees

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of faculty working within baccalaureate degree–granting community colleges. Method: Data sources included 16 semi-structured interviews, numerous publicly available organizational documents, and participant observations. Results: Analysis revealed three distinct, yet interconnected themes. In light of the institutionalization of baccalaureate degrees, faculty experienced shifting and intensifying work expectations related to service, research, and research-related activities. These shifts exacerbated existing tensions, which in turn led faculty to live with uncertainty in terms of tenure and promotion, the direction of the college, and whether or not they could thrive in a highly contradictory environment. Contributions: This study adds to the literature concerning the community college baccalaureate—a topic of heightened interest. It is essential that we gain a better understanding of the implications of this trend for faculty, which in turn carry implications for students.

Expanding the Role of Community Colleges With Workforce Baccalaureate Programs

2021 ◽  
pp. 28-58
Author(s):  
Carmen M. Dones
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Community College ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Community College Student ◽  
Bachelor's Degree ◽  
Baccalaureate Degrees ◽  
Mission Creep ◽  
Equity Value ◽  
Bachelor's Degrees

Community colleges have been expanding their mission to include the conferring of bachelor's degrees in career education programs for many years, which has been met with consternation over the quality of a bachelor's degree from a community college, as well as with resources in higher education being limited or redirected when there has been cutbacks in funding. Legislators in some states and critics in higher education refer to the phenomenon of community colleges offering baccalaureate degrees as mission creep, opposed to seeing the equity value in higher degree attainment. Thus, the purpose of the study is to analyze state policies through examination of secondary data to determine the purpose of the community college bachelor's degree programs nationwide, the types of programs being offered, as well as what the phenomenon reveals about being a viable pathway to a higher education degree for the typical community college student.

Assessing the Promise of California’s Early Assessment Program for Community Colleges

2014 ◽  
Vol 655 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Kurlaender
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Community College ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Postsecondary Education ◽  
College Level ◽  
Early Assessment ◽  
School Students ◽  
Assessment Program ◽  
K 12

This article focuses on California’s efforts to improve the alignment between K–12 and postsecondary schooling through the Early Assessment Program (EAP). Implemented in 2004, the EAP was designed to give high school students information about their academic preparedness for postsecondary education and to encourage teachers to teach for college readiness. I describe the EAP and its evolution and presence at California’s community colleges. I then match EAP and other test score data for California high school juniors to administrative data from California community colleges to investigate the extent to which high school student participation in the EAP predicts their college course placement and influences their academic performance. I find that very few students enter the California community college system ready for college-level work based on the EAP exam, but that the EAP can better serve community college campuses in their efforts to place students in developmental coursework.

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