Community College Enrollment and the 2007-2009 Financial Crisis

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)

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The Impact of COVID-19 on Community College Enrollment and Student Success: Evidence from California Administrative Data

10.3386/w28715 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

George Bulman ◽

Robert Fairlie

Keyword(s):

Community College ◽

Student Success ◽

Administrative Data ◽

College Enrollment ◽

The Impact

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Accreditation sanctions and community college enrollment

New Directions for Community Colleges ◽

10.1002/cc.20480 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2021 (196) ◽

pp. 19-31

Author(s):

Christopher A. Burnett

Keyword(s):

Community College ◽

College Enrollment

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Minimum Wage Policy and Community College Enrollment Patterns

ILR Review ◽

10.1177/0019793919855003 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 73 (1) ◽

pp. 178-210

Author(s):

Chang Hyung Lee

Keyword(s):

Community College ◽

Postsecondary Education ◽

Minimum Wage ◽

College Enrollment ◽

Substantial Reduction ◽

Wage Policy ◽

Enrollment Patterns ◽

Education Data ◽

Part Time Students ◽

Part Time

In this article, the author studies the effect of the minimum wage on community college enrollment using cross-border variation in state minimum wages. To address spatial correlation in local labor market conditions, schools are paired on either side of state borders based on geographic proximity using the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. Comparing paired schools, the author finds a substantial reduction in enrollment at community colleges in areas with a higher minimum wage. This effect is observed only among part-time students, which suggests that the minimum wage primarily affects students at the margin between work and postsecondary education.

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