A new report
(2 MB PDF) published by ACE’s Center for Policy Research and Strategy (CPRS) shows
that earning an associate degree prior to transferring to a four-year
institution for recent high school graduates neither increased nor
decreased their likelihood of completing a bachelor’s degree. However,
the report suggests prospective transfer students may still want to
consider completing an associate degree first and offers recommendations
for policy and practice to increase degree attainment.
The
Impact of Earning an Associate Degree Prior to Transfer on Bachelor’s
Degree Completion: A Look at Recent High School Graduates reveals
that earning a strong GPA while enrolled in community college and the
control and selectivity of the four-year institutions students
transferred to were among the strongest predictors of bachelor’s degree
attainment.
The research, presented this week at ACE2018, ACE’s 100th Annual Meeting, was supported by Hobsons, a leader in education technology.
The research brief is the third installment in a four-part series
examining the educational journeys of high school graduates who enroll
in community college directly after high school. The research project
analyzes data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS), a
nationally representative study of students who began 10th grade in 2002
and were tracked over a 10-year period.
“Recent studies have estimated that roughly four out of five
community college students say they plan to earn a bachelor’s degree,
yet only one in 10 do within six years of entering college,” said
Jonathan Turk, senior policy research analyst at CPRS. “This research
aims to provide some additional insights into the factors that increase
the likelihood of bachelor’s degree attainment for beginning community
college students.”
“We know that a large and increasing number of students are enrolling
in multiple colleges and universities during their postsecondary
careers,” said Kate Cassino, CEO at Hobsons. “This research, and our
ongoing partnership with ACE, is an important part of Hobsons’ efforts
to support higher education in building the pathways we know are
essential to improving student goal attainment.”
Download the full report here. To read the first two briefs in the series, see:
Identifying Predictors of Credential Completion Among Beginning Community College Students (4 MB PDF)
Improving the Odds: An Empirical Look at the Factors That Influence Upward Transfer (18 MB PDF)