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This paper presents new evidence concerning the returns to US community colleges' terminal programs as distinct from their traditional transfer function. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), the authors discuss three major findings: (1) that four-year college graduates who began at a community college are not at a substantial earnings disadvantage in relation to those who started at a four-year college; (2) that community college students in terminal training programs experienced positive returns when compared with that received by four-year college starters who do not graduate; and (3) that there is evidence of positive self-selection for community college students who choose the terminal training track.