Discussions of the barriers to completion in community colleges have largely focused on student success in introductory college-level math and English courses, and rightfully so, since these courses are typically required for degrees. However, there is a much broader range of courses that also serve as “gatekeepers” in the sense that they are obstacles to completion. This paper offers methods for identifying these courses and for assessing the relative extent of the obstacle to completion each of them poses. We compare the performance in these courses of students who successfully completed a credential with those who did not. We find that the difficulty students experience in succeeding in many other introductory courses is just as great as that posed by college math and English. If colleges want to reduce impediments to graduation, they therefore need to look at a broader range of courses than just math and English and devise strategies for improving student achievement in these courses as well. We also find that overall GPA in college courses is a stronger predictor of completion than performance in any one course. This suggests that colleges need to monitor students’ overall performance to identify those who are in danger of not completing and design academic and non-academic interventions to help them succeed. Conversely, colleges need also to identify students who did well in these obstacle courses but have dropped out, so that they can encourage them to continue. It also suggests that remedial instruction, which is typically focused on math and English, should be rethought and its scope broadened.
{"title":"Not Just Math and English: Courses That Pose Obstacles to Community College Completion. CCRC Working Paper No. 52.","authors":"M. Zeidenberg, Davis Jenkins, M. Scott","doi":"10.7916/D8XW4T6H","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7916/D8XW4T6H","url":null,"abstract":"Discussions of the barriers to completion in community colleges have largely focused on student success in introductory college-level math and English courses, and rightfully so, since these courses are typically required for degrees. However, there is a much broader range of courses that also serve as “gatekeepers” in the sense that they are obstacles to completion. This paper offers methods for identifying these courses and for assessing the relative extent of the obstacle to completion each of them poses. We compare the performance in these courses of students who successfully completed a credential with those who did not. We find that the difficulty students experience in succeeding in many other introductory courses is just as great as that posed by college math and English. If colleges want to reduce impediments to graduation, they therefore need to look at a broader range of courses than just math and English and devise strategies for improving student achievement in these courses as well. We also find that overall GPA in college courses is a stronger predictor of completion than performance in any one course. This suggests that colleges need to monitor students’ overall performance to identify those who are in danger of not completing and design academic and non-academic interventions to help them succeed. Conversely, colleges need also to identify students who did well in these obstacle courses but have dropped out, so that they can encourage them to continue. It also suggests that remedial instruction, which is typically focused on math and English, should be rethought and its scope broadened.","PeriodicalId":218750,"journal":{"name":"Community College Research Center, Columbia University","volume":"49 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115714899","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Karp, Susan Bickerstaff, Zawadi Rucks-Ahidiana, R. H. Bork, Melissa Barragan, Nikki Edgecombe
College 101 courses—also called student success, introduction to college, orientation to college, or freshman experience courses—provide students with information about college and campus services, assistance with academic and career planning, and techniques to improve study habits and personal skills. This study investigated College 101 courses at three community colleges in Virginia through interviews with 169 college staff members, faculty members, and students combined with observations of 19 course sections. Although College 101 courses were found to be widely supported by stakeholders, contextual factors made implementation challenging and undermined the courses’ potential to create long-lasting impacts on students’ outcomes. College 101 courses provided students with important information, but they did not offer sufficient opportunities for in-depth exploration and skill-building practice. However, the authors found strong evidence of the worth and promise of College 101 courses and identified ways to optimize them and generate long-term results.
{"title":"College 101 Courses for Applied Learning and Student Success. CCRC Working Paper No. 49.","authors":"M. Karp, Susan Bickerstaff, Zawadi Rucks-Ahidiana, R. H. Bork, Melissa Barragan, Nikki Edgecombe","doi":"10.7916/D8891F7H","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7916/D8891F7H","url":null,"abstract":"College 101 courses—also called student success, introduction to college, orientation to college, or freshman experience courses—provide students with information about college and campus services, assistance with academic and career planning, and techniques to improve study habits and personal skills. This study investigated College 101 courses at three community colleges in Virginia through interviews with 169 college staff members, faculty members, and students combined with observations of 19 course sections. Although College 101 courses were found to be widely supported by stakeholders, contextual factors made implementation challenging and undermined the courses’ potential to create long-lasting impacts on students’ outcomes. College 101 courses provided students with important information, but they did not offer sufficient opportunities for in-depth exploration and skill-building practice. However, the authors found strong evidence of the worth and promise of College 101 courses and identified ways to optimize them and generate long-term results.","PeriodicalId":218750,"journal":{"name":"Community College Research Center, Columbia University","volume":"36 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128808001","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Michelle Van Noy, M. Weiss, Davis Jenkins, Elisabeth A. Barnett, John Wachen
Using data obtained from interviews and program websites at Washington community and technical colleges, the authors of this study examine the structure of community college career-technical programs in allied health, business and marketing, computer and information studies, and mechanics and repair. A framework for structure with four dimensions—program alignment, program prescription, information quality, and active program advising and support—is used to evaluate the practices of relatively highand low-performing colleges within each field of study. The authors reviewed the websites of all programs at highand low-performing colleges in each of these fields of study and conducted case studies on individual programs from these fields, interviewing faculty, administrators, and counselors to learn more about the dimensions of structure in the programs. The allied health, computer and information science, and mechanics and repair programs were all found to be highly structured; the business and marketing programs were found to have a moderate level of structure. Overall, given that all of the programs were at least moderately structured, there was limited evidence of a connection between program structure and program performance. Table of
{"title":"Structure in Community College Career-Technical Programs: A Qualitative Analysis. CCRC Working Paper No. 50.","authors":"Michelle Van Noy, M. Weiss, Davis Jenkins, Elisabeth A. Barnett, John Wachen","doi":"10.7916/D8B283M5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7916/D8B283M5","url":null,"abstract":"Using data obtained from interviews and program websites at Washington community and technical colleges, the authors of this study examine the structure of community college career-technical programs in allied health, business and marketing, computer and information studies, and mechanics and repair. A framework for structure with four dimensions—program alignment, program prescription, information quality, and active program advising and support—is used to evaluate the practices of relatively highand low-performing colleges within each field of study. The authors reviewed the websites of all programs at highand low-performing colleges in each of these fields of study and conducted case studies on individual programs from these fields, interviewing faculty, administrators, and counselors to learn more about the dimensions of structure in the programs. The allied health, computer and information science, and mechanics and repair programs were all found to be highly structured; the business and marketing programs were found to have a moderate level of structure. Overall, given that all of the programs were at least moderately structured, there was limited evidence of a connection between program structure and program performance. Table of","PeriodicalId":218750,"journal":{"name":"Community College Research Center, Columbia University","volume":"62 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128928489","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Susan Bickerstaff, Melissa Barragan, Zawadi Rucks-Ahidiana
To improve low rates of credential attainment in community colleges, individual schools as well as a number of national organizations have developed a range of initiatives focused on increasing rates of college completion and student success. Although the importance of non-academic factors in college completion and student success has been well established, questions remain about the best ways to structure the community college environment to foster students’ sense of belonging and promote behaviors that are associated with success. This paper addresses this gap in the literature by focusing on the academic confidence of students at the outset of their community college careers, the ways in which their confidence may impact student behaviors and persistence, and how student confidence is affected by students’ experiences in college. Using data from nearly 100 community college student interviews, this paper examines students’ descriptions of their confidence upon entering college and of the shifts in confidence they experienced early in their college careers. Our findings suggest that student confidence is shaped in part by past academic experiences and expectations of college upon entry. Using student descriptions of their perceptions of college and of themselves, we describe the characteristics of students who describe themselves as self-assured and those who identify as apprehensive. The interview data reveal that student confidence is continually shifting as a result of interactions with peers, faculty, and others. Our analysis also indicates that academic confidence can impact student motivation and academic behaviors that are associated with success. Importantly, this paper identifies the nature of those experiences that positively reinforce student confidence, events that we term experiences of earned success. Finally, we describe ways to structure classroom and other on-campus environments to create opportunities for students to experience earned success and ultimately enhance their commitment to academic pursuits.
{"title":"\"I Came in Unsure of Everything\": Community College Students' Shifts in Confidence. CCRC Working Paper No. 48.","authors":"Susan Bickerstaff, Melissa Barragan, Zawadi Rucks-Ahidiana","doi":"10.7916/D87P96M2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7916/D87P96M2","url":null,"abstract":"To improve low rates of credential attainment in community colleges, individual schools as well as a number of national organizations have developed a range of initiatives focused on increasing rates of college completion and student success. Although the importance of non-academic factors in college completion and student success has been well established, questions remain about the best ways to structure the community college environment to foster students’ sense of belonging and promote behaviors that are associated with success. This paper addresses this gap in the literature by focusing on the academic confidence of students at the outset of their community college careers, the ways in which their confidence may impact student behaviors and persistence, and how student confidence is affected by students’ experiences in college. Using data from nearly 100 community college student interviews, this paper examines students’ descriptions of their confidence upon entering college and of the shifts in confidence they experienced early in their college careers. Our findings suggest that student confidence is shaped in part by past academic experiences and expectations of college upon entry. Using student descriptions of their perceptions of college and of themselves, we describe the characteristics of students who describe themselves as self-assured and those who identify as apprehensive. The interview data reveal that student confidence is continually shifting as a result of interactions with peers, faculty, and others. Our analysis also indicates that academic confidence can impact student motivation and academic behaviors that are associated with success. Importantly, this paper identifies the nature of those experiences that positively reinforce student confidence, events that we term experiences of earned success. Finally, we describe ways to structure classroom and other on-campus environments to create opportunities for students to experience earned success and ultimately enhance their commitment to academic pursuits.","PeriodicalId":218750,"journal":{"name":"Community College Research Center, Columbia University","volume":"37 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-08-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126664150","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
College students are increasingly combining studying with paid employment, and community college students tend to work even longer hours compared with students at fouryear colleges. Yet, there is little evidence on the academic consequences of community college students’ term-time employment. Using a rare administrative dataset from Washington State that combines students’ quarterly transcript records with earning records from the state Unemployment Insurance system, this study relies on two causal strategies: first, an individual fixed effects strategy that takes advantage of the quarterly nature of the data to control for unobserved and time-invariant differences among students, and second, an instrumental variable–difference-in-differences framework that takes advantage of the fact that there is an exogenous supply of retail jobs during the winter holidays. The study compares academic outcomes in the fall and winter quarters for students who were more likely to work in retail and those less likely to work in retail based on pre-enrollment association with retail jobs. The findings reject the possibility of large negative effects for small increases in employment for community college students.
{"title":"The Academic Consequences of Employment for Students Enrolled in Community College. CCRC Working Paper No. 46.","authors":"M. Dadgar","doi":"10.7916/D82R40VZ","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7916/D82R40VZ","url":null,"abstract":"College students are increasingly combining studying with paid employment, and community college students tend to work even longer hours compared with students at fouryear colleges. Yet, there is little evidence on the academic consequences of community college students’ term-time employment. Using a rare administrative dataset from Washington State that combines students’ quarterly transcript records with earning records from the state Unemployment Insurance system, this study relies on two causal strategies: first, an individual fixed effects strategy that takes advantage of the quarterly nature of the data to control for unobserved and time-invariant differences among students, and second, an instrumental variable–difference-in-differences framework that takes advantage of the fact that there is an exogenous supply of retail jobs during the winter holidays. The study compares academic outcomes in the fall and winter quarters for students who were more likely to work in retail and those less likely to work in retail based on pre-enrollment association with retail jobs. The findings reject the possibility of large negative effects for small increases in employment for community college students.","PeriodicalId":218750,"journal":{"name":"Community College Research Center, Columbia University","volume":"4 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123761868","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Washington State Student Achievement Initiative: Achievement Points Analysis for Academic Years 2007-2011. CCRC-IHELP Student Achievement Initiative Policy Study.","authors":"C. Belfield","doi":"10.7916/D8T72FHR","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7916/D8T72FHR","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":218750,"journal":{"name":"Community College Research Center, Columbia University","volume":"41 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115403808","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Using data from the Virginia Community College System and building upon prior Florida-based research, this study examines whether student success course enrollment, as well as student and institutional characteristics, has positive associations with shorter term student outcomes, including earning any college credits within the first year and persistence into the second year. The present study finds that students who enrolled in a student success course in the first semester were more likely to earn any college-level credits within the first year and were more likely to persist to the second year. The study also finds that students who were referred to developmental education were more likely to earn any college-level credits within the first year if they enrolled in a student success course in their first term.
{"title":"Student Success Courses and Educational Outcomes at Virginia Community Colleges. CCRC Working Paper No. 40.","authors":"Sung-woo Cho, M. Karp","doi":"10.7916/D8XP72XW","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7916/D8XP72XW","url":null,"abstract":"Using data from the Virginia Community College System and building upon prior Florida-based research, this study examines whether student success course enrollment, as well as student and institutional characteristics, has positive associations with shorter term student outcomes, including earning any college credits within the first year and persistence into the second year. The present study finds that students who enrolled in a student success course in the first semester were more likely to earn any college-level credits within the first year and were more likely to persist to the second year. The study also finds that students who were referred to developmental education were more likely to earn any college-level credits within the first year if they enrolled in a student success course in their first term.","PeriodicalId":218750,"journal":{"name":"Community College Research Center, Columbia University","volume":"93 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134032897","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The developmental education process, as it is typically implemented in colleges across the country, seems straightforward: underprepared students are assessed and placed into an appropriate developmental course sequence designed to prepare them for college-level work; once finished with the sequence, these students presumably then move on to success in college. Analyses of student progression through developmental education reveal, however, that this seemingly straightforward process is rife with complexity and confusion, and results in poor outcomes for the majority of developmental students. Various explanations have been advanced to explain developmental students’ lack of progression, including inadequate test preparation, insufficiently predictive exams, poorly aligned curricula, uninspiring skill-and-drill instruction, and the sheer length of time and financial resources required to finish a long sequence of courses (Edgecombe, 2011a; Grubb, 2010; Hughes & Scott-Clayton, 2011). Each explanation implies that the developmental system is broken and that one or more specific fixes will mend it. Yet underlying these issues is a deeper and more vexing question: Why is the system broken? Based on a case study of the City University of New York’s six community colleges, this report proposes a new opposing forces framework for understanding the dysfunction of the developmental system. We identify three sets of opposing forces that shape developmental policy and practice: system-wide consistency versus institutional autonomy, efficient versus effective assessment, and promotion of student progression versus enforcement of academic standards. Within each set, both goals are important and worthy, both are championed by key stakeholders in the system, and both have direct impacts on developmental policy. However, while the two goals may not be absolutely irreconcilable, they tend to work in opposition to one another and may create frustration on the part of administrators and faculty, confusion on the part of students, and poor outcomes overall. We begin the report by outlining the opposing forces framework and by discussing how the tensions inherent in the framework are apparent at the national level. We then use CUNY as a case study to describe in detail how each of the three tensions shape developmental policies, practices, and student progression patterns. Finally, we provide suggestions on how colleges nationwide can bring apparently opposing forces into alignment and thus create a system that works to meet all its stakeholders’ goals. Table of
{"title":"The Opposing Forces that Shape Developmental Education: Assessment, Placement, and Progression at CUNY Community Colleges. CCRC Working Paper No. 36.","authors":"S. Jaggars, Michelle Hodara","doi":"10.7916/D80C4SS5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7916/D80C4SS5","url":null,"abstract":"The developmental education process, as it is typically implemented in colleges across the country, seems straightforward: underprepared students are assessed and placed into an appropriate developmental course sequence designed to prepare them for college-level work; once finished with the sequence, these students presumably then move on to success in college. Analyses of student progression through developmental education reveal, however, that this seemingly straightforward process is rife with complexity and confusion, and results in poor outcomes for the majority of developmental students. Various explanations have been advanced to explain developmental students’ lack of progression, including inadequate test preparation, insufficiently predictive exams, poorly aligned curricula, uninspiring skill-and-drill instruction, and the sheer length of time and financial resources required to finish a long sequence of courses (Edgecombe, 2011a; Grubb, 2010; Hughes & Scott-Clayton, 2011). Each explanation implies that the developmental system is broken and that one or more specific fixes will mend it. Yet underlying these issues is a deeper and more vexing question: Why is the system broken? Based on a case study of the City University of New York’s six community colleges, this report proposes a new opposing forces framework for understanding the dysfunction of the developmental system. We identify three sets of opposing forces that shape developmental policy and practice: system-wide consistency versus institutional autonomy, efficient versus effective assessment, and promotion of student progression versus enforcement of academic standards. Within each set, both goals are important and worthy, both are championed by key stakeholders in the system, and both have direct impacts on developmental policy. However, while the two goals may not be absolutely irreconcilable, they tend to work in opposition to one another and may create frustration on the part of administrators and faculty, confusion on the part of students, and poor outcomes overall. We begin the report by outlining the opposing forces framework and by discussing how the tensions inherent in the framework are apparent at the national level. We then use CUNY as a case study to describe in detail how each of the three tensions shape developmental policies, practices, and student progression patterns. Finally, we provide suggestions on how colleges nationwide can bring apparently opposing forces into alignment and thus create a system that works to meet all its stakeholders’ goals. Table of","PeriodicalId":218750,"journal":{"name":"Community College Research Center, Columbia University","volume":"23 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122150176","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study uses administrative data from Washington State to chart the educational pathways of first-time community college students over seven years, with a focus on young, socioeconomically disadvantaged students. Of particular interest are the rates at which students enter a course of study (by passing multiple college-level courses within a focused field of study), the amount of remediation taken by students in each concentration, and the rates at which students in different concentrations earn certificates, earn associate degrees, or transfer to four-year institutions. We found that students from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds were less likely than higher SES students to enter a concentration, which we define as taking and passing at least three courses in a single field of study. Among those who did enter a concentration, low-SES students were less likely to concentrate in liberal arts and sciences and more likely to enter a concentration in career-technical education (CTE), where completion rates are lower. Low-SES students were overrepresented in fields such as education and childcare that have low completion rates, although they were well represented compared with high-SES students in nursing and allied health, which tend to have higher labor market returns for graduates. Overall, however, the majority of young students in our sample who entered a program of study—even low-SES young students— were more likely to do so in liberal arts and sciences than in career-technical programs. Some researchers and policy analysts have suggested that it would be beneficial to encourage more students into pathways that involve multiple, ―stackable‖ credentials in CTE fields with relatively high labor market returns. Given that liberal arts and sciences is the default pathway for the majority of younger students, convincing recent high school graduates to choose a CTE path would likely require a fundamental shift in the way high schools and community colleges guide and prepare young, first-time college students. Regardless of whether they concentrated in a CTE field or in liberal arts and sciences, however, low-SES students were less likely to earn a credential or transfer to a four-year institution.
{"title":"Charting Pathways to Completion for Low-Income Community College Students. CCRC Working Paper No. 34.","authors":"Davis Jenkins, M. Weiss","doi":"10.7916/D8JM2JRF","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7916/D8JM2JRF","url":null,"abstract":"This study uses administrative data from Washington State to chart the educational pathways of first-time community college students over seven years, with a focus on young, socioeconomically disadvantaged students. Of particular interest are the rates at which students enter a course of study (by passing multiple college-level courses within a focused field of study), the amount of remediation taken by students in each concentration, and the rates at which students in different concentrations earn certificates, earn associate degrees, or transfer to four-year institutions. We found that students from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds were less likely than higher SES students to enter a concentration, which we define as taking and passing at least three courses in a single field of study. Among those who did enter a concentration, low-SES students were less likely to concentrate in liberal arts and sciences and more likely to enter a concentration in career-technical education (CTE), where completion rates are lower. Low-SES students were overrepresented in fields such as education and childcare that have low completion rates, although they were well represented compared with high-SES students in nursing and allied health, which tend to have higher labor market returns for graduates. Overall, however, the majority of young students in our sample who entered a program of study—even low-SES young students— were more likely to do so in liberal arts and sciences than in career-technical programs. Some researchers and policy analysts have suggested that it would be beneficial to encourage more students into pathways that involve multiple, ―stackable‖ credentials in CTE fields with relatively high labor market returns. Given that liberal arts and sciences is the default pathway for the majority of younger students, convincing recent high school graduates to choose a CTE path would likely require a fundamental shift in the way high schools and community colleges guide and prepare young, first-time college students. Regardless of whether they concentrated in a CTE field or in liberal arts and sciences, however, low-SES students were less likely to earn a credential or transfer to a four-year institution.","PeriodicalId":218750,"journal":{"name":"Community College Research Center, Columbia University","volume":"39 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114506944","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Most students who enter higher education through a community college fail to earn a postsecondary credential. One reason for this is that many students do not enter a college-level program of study. This paper presents a practical method for measuring rates of program entry and completion using data on students’ actual course-taking behaviors rather than declared major or intent. This method is used to track the progress and outcomes of first-time college students over five years using data from an anonymous sample of community colleges. The analysis shows that students must enter a program of study as soon as possible. Students who do not enter a program within a year of enrollment are far less likely to ever enter a program and therefore less likely to earn a credential. The paper suggests ways community colleges can rethink their practices at key stages of students’ experience to substantially increase rates of student completion.
{"title":"Get with the Program: Accelerating Community College Students' Entry into and Completion of Programs of Study. CCRC Working Paper No. 32.","authors":"Davis Jenkins","doi":"10.7916/D8697BPR","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7916/D8697BPR","url":null,"abstract":"Most students who enter higher education through a community college fail to earn a postsecondary credential. One reason for this is that many students do not enter a college-level program of study. This paper presents a practical method for measuring rates of program entry and completion using data on students’ actual course-taking behaviors rather than declared major or intent. This method is used to track the progress and outcomes of first-time college students over five years using data from an anonymous sample of community colleges. The analysis shows that students must enter a program of study as soon as possible. Students who do not enter a program within a year of enrollment are far less likely to ever enter a program and therefore less likely to earn a credential. The paper suggests ways community colleges can rethink their practices at key stages of students’ experience to substantially increase rates of student completion.","PeriodicalId":218750,"journal":{"name":"Community College Research Center, Columbia University","volume":"30 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129532382","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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