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Using detailed administrative data from Virginia, this paper examines how and why the community college pathway to a baccalaureate influences students' degree attainment and short-term labor market performance. [The authors] find that the community college pathway sharply reduces the likelihood of earning a bachelor's degree but does not have a significant impact on students' short-term labor market performance. [The authors] examine various mechanisms that may stand in the way of students' baccalaureate completion: the impacts of two-year attendance on early academic progress, the logistical challenges inherent in selecting and enrolling in a four-year transfer destination, the loss of credits at the point of transfer, and post-transfer academic 'shock'. [The] results suggest that the primary culprit is that many otherwise successful community college students never enter a four-year transfer destination. Among students who do transfer, their probability of baccalaureate attainment and their short-term labor market performance are comparable to those of native four-year students. After taking into account the lower costs of community college attendance, [the] cost-benefit analysis finds that two-year entrants fare as well as or better than four-year entrants, at least in the short run (eight years after college entry).

Published abstract. Show less

Given the current labor shortage in the field of computer science (CS), it is critical to the continued strength and growth of the US economy for colleges to supply more CS graduates. Moreover, in order to understand the problems faced by diverse populations and generate creative hardware and software solutions, the populations of CS graduates themselves need to be more diverse. Although community colleges represent a promising source for CS bachelor level graduates from groups underrepresented in the field, much work remains to be done in order for that promise to be fulfilled. This report investigates the national landscape of CS students at community colleges in order to better understand student behaviors and institutional characteristics that support or hinder community college students' efforts to attain a CS bachelor degree.

The data suggest that navigating the community college pathway to a CS bachelor degree is complex and challenging. The following findings from the authors' analyses point to areas where further strides could be made toward supporting the success of community college students in CS: (1) community college students who eventually attained a CS bachelor degree were unusually focused and fortunate; (2) CS bachelor degree earners were less likely than their peers to earn a community college award; and (3) although CS pre-baccalaureate award earners were more likely to be from underrepresented groups, few went on to earn a bachelor degree in CS. The report also presents recommendations on how two- and four-year colleges can partner more closely together to create more structured and supported pathways that will help a larger number of underrepresented community college students to attain a CS bachelor degree.

Edited excerpts from Community College Research Center website. Show less

To help guide students through program and course options, all community colleges provide academic advising services. However, to provide the support needed, colleges would have to substantially increase their number of advisers. Given increasing enrollments and decreasing public funding, more cost-effective solutions are needed. This chapter examines the use of technology and other structural changes to encourage comprehensive advising reforms. Using case study data gathered from several community colleges engaged in technology-mediated advising reforms, the authors suggest that e-advising tools may be most effective when they prompt colleges to rethink and restructure delivery of a range of services and programs into a more cohesive and international whole.

Edited excerpts from publication. Show less

Almost two-thirds of students who enter community colleges in the US every year are judged to be academically not ready to engage in college-level coursework. In order to enroll, these students typically must take one or more 'remedial' or 'developmental' math or English courses that will not count toward their college degree. The students most likely to be referred to these courses are the low-income and minority students for whom a college degree could change the trajectory of their lives, and address disparities in educational attainment by income and race. The bulk of the evidence, however, suggests that the annual investment in services to help underprepared students is having little positive impact on the success of those students in community colleges. In this report, the authors review that research, describe findings from studies on four types of reforms under way at various colleges, and conclude with their view that a wholesale redesign of the student experience at community colleges is needed to make a real difference in the outcomes of underprepared students.

Edited excerpt from publisher's website. Show less