New Data Signal Flawed Transfer Process
Sara Weissman
February 7, 2024
Many community college students intend to transfer to four-year institutions and earn bachelor’s degrees. Few of them make it, according to new reports.
New data show that fewer than half of community college students who transfer to four-year institutions go on to earn a bachelor’s degree, and these poor outcomes are more pronounced among the most vulnerable student populations.
The findings were detailed in two new reports, one focused on community colleges and another on four-year institutions, released Wednesday by the Community College Research Center at Columbia University’s Teachers College, the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program and the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. The findings draw on data from the National Student Clearinghouse.
“Tracking Transfer” reports have been published regularly since 2017, but this is the first time the transfer student outcomes data were disaggregated by categories such as race, ethnicity and income.
