Community colleges are seen as contradictory institutions. Supporters contend that community colleges increase baccalaureate attainment by providing access to higher education for students who would otherwise not attend college, while critics argue that these institutions decrease baccalaureate attainment for students who would otherwise attend a 4-year institution. Using the National Education Longitudinal Study, this article advances the literature on the impact of community colleges on baccalaureate attainment by estimating new models that allow controlling for pathways of enrollment while using different measures of educational expectations and correcting for college choice. Findings suggest that community colleges significantly reduce the probability of attaining a bachelor's degree, as compared to 4-year institutions, an effect that remains after having taken into account non-traditional enrollment pathways, educational expectations, and self-selection into 2-year and 4-year institutions.
The paper poses the following research question: Does
the existence of statewide articulation agreements increase the
probability of vertical transfers from two-year to four-year colleges?
Stated differently, is there a difference in transfer rates between
those states with statewide mandates versus those without such
policies?
Additionally, this paper culls from postsecondary data on individual
characteristics to identify other factors impacting the probability of
transferring and to suggest policy considerations that will likely
increase student transfers from two-year to four-year institutions.
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