Moving Into Town -- and Moving On: The Community College in the Lives of Traditional-age Students

202 Pages·2006·1.51 MB·English

Moving Into Town—and Moving On:
The Community College in the Lives of Traditional-age Students
U.S. Department of Education
Moving Into Town—and Moving On:
The Community College in the Lives of Traditional-age Students
Clifford Adelman
Senior Research Analyst
Policy, Research, and Evaluation Staff
Office of Vocational and Adult Education
U.S. Department of Education
U.S. Department of Education
Margaret Spellings
Secretary
Office of Vocational and Adult Education
Susan Sclafani
Assistant Secretary
February 2005
The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the positions
or policies of the U.S. Department of Education. No official endorsement by the U.S.
Department of Education of any product, commodity, service, or enterprise mentioned in this
publication is intended or should be inferred. This document is in the public domain.
Authorization to reproduce it in whole or in part is granted. While permission to reprint this
publication is not necessary, the citation should be:
Adelman, C. 2005. Moving Into Town—and Moving On: The Community College in the Lives of
Traditional–age Students. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.
To order copies of this report,
write to: ED Pubs, Education Publications Center, U.S. Department of Education, P.O. Box
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Contents
List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... v
Acknowledgments............................................................................................................... xi
Executive Summary............................................................................................................. xiii
On Reading Tables in This Study........................................................................................ xxiv
I: Background .................................................................................................................. 1
II: Terms and Parameters ................................................................................................. 9
III: F irst Portrait: Students Who Started Their Postsecondary Careers in a ...................... 23
Community College
IV: Second Portrait: The Community College Residence Trichotomy.............................. 55
V : Third Portrait: Moving On: Community College "Graduates"..................................... 91
VI: The ‘Cooling Out’/Diversion Critique Revisited........................................................ 109
VII: Summary and Messages............................................................................................... 117
References........................................................................................................................... 121
Appendix A: Principal Features of the NCES Grade-cohort Longitudinal Studies............ 133
Appendix B: Technical Issues............................................................................................. 135
Appendix C: Tables on Miscellaneous Topics Raised in the Text...................................... 139
Appendix D: Comparative Course Participation Rates of Community College Students... 149
Appendix E: Financial Aid in the First Year of Attendance: Highlights From the
Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study, 1995/96–2001....... 153
Appendix F: First-to-Second Year "Retention" of Community College Students: The
Critical Factor of Age at Entry....................................................................... 157
Appendix G: Occupational Course Credit Clusters Used in the NELS:88/2000
Postsecondary Transcript Files...................................................................... 161
Appendix H: Occupation Codes Used for The NELS:88/2000 Transcript Files
(as Amended) ................................................................................................ 163
Appendix I: Congruent Combinations of Field of Study and Occupation, by Degree
Level: NELS:88/2000 Longitudinal Study.................................................... 169
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Tables
Page
II: Terms and Parameters
1. Change in the proportion of all community college students enrolled for credit
who were under the age of 22, and the median age for all community college
students enrolled for credit, 1991–2001................................................................... 11
2. Enrollment distribution of beginning postsecondary students, by age brackets, in
four types of institutions, 1995–96 .......................................................................... 11
3. Transfer and four-year attendance rates of 12th-graders in the classes of 1972,
1982, and 1992 who first entered postsecondary education at a community
college...................................................................................................................... 15
4. Percent of 1992 12th-graders who first entered three types of postsecondary
institutions, by consistency of level of education expectations................................ 18
5. Among 1992 12th-graders whose first institution of attendance was a community
college, distribution by consistency of level of education expectations, and
percent who had applied to a four-year college by grade 12..................................... 19
6. Logistic account of likelihood of attending a four-year college at any time by
1992 12th-graders who first entered community colleges and earned any credits
from community colleges......................................................................................... 22
III: First Portrait: Students Who Started Their Postsecondary Careers in a
Community College
7. Type of institution of first attendance by age at date of entry of students who
first entered postsecondary education in 1995–96.................................................. 25
8. Student or employee primary role and family status of students who entered
postsecondary education in 1995–96 and whose first institution of attendance
was a community college, by age at date of entry................................... ................. 26
9. Percent of 1995–96 beginning students who started in a community college and
who transferred by 2001 to at least one other institution, by type of transfer
destination and age of student at entry to postsecondary education......................... 27
10. First institution of attendance of 12th-graders from the high school classes of
1972, 1982, and 1992 who entered postsecondary education at any time
following the year in which they were scheduled to graduate from high school,
by major demographic characteristics...................................................................... 31
11. First institution of attendance of 12th-graders from the high school classes of
1972, 1982, and 1992 who entered postsecondary education at any time
following the year in which they were scheduled to graduate from high school,
by census division and urbanicity of high school location........................................ 36
12. Percent of beginning postsecondary students in 1995–96 who selected their
first institution of attendance because it was close to home, by type of first
institution attended................................................................................................... 38
13. First institution of attendance of 12th-graders from the high school classes of
1982 and 1992 who entered postsecondary education at any time following the
year in which they were scheduled to graduate from high school, by the
academic intensity of their high school curriculum................................................. 40
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Tables (continued)
Table Number Page
14. First institution of attendance of 12th-graders from the high school classes of
1982 and 1992 who entered postsecondary education at any time following the
year in which they were scheduled to graduate from high school, by highest
level of mathematics studies in high school............................................................. 41
15. First institution of attendance of 12th-graders from the high school classes of
1982 and 1992 who entered postsecondary education at any time following the
year in which they were scheduled to graduate from high school, by timing of
entry to postsecondary education............................................................................. 42
16. Planned postsecondary major as stated by 1982 and 1992 12th-graders who
later entered postsecondary education, by type of institution first attended............ 43
17. Logistic account of variables associated with the community college as first
institution of attendance for 1992 12th-graders....................................................... 45
18. Distribution of credits earned in community colleges for the high school class
of 1982 as presented by Kane and Rouse (1999) compared with the same
distribution adding the condition of starting in a community college...................... 48
19. Percent of 1992 12th-graders who attended community colleges but did not
start in community colleges, by attendance pattern and number of credits
earned at community colleges, and bachelor’s degree attainment........................... 49
20. Education expectations and academic behaviors of 1992 12th-graders who
became reverse-transfer students, compared to other students who started in
four-year colleges and community colleges and earned any credits from
community colleges.................................................................................................. 51
21. Of 1992 12th-graders who attended a community college at any time and
earned 10 or fewer credits (including zero credits) from community colleges,
the distribution of types of institutions attended...................................................... 53
IV. Second Portrait: the Community College Residence Trichotomy
22. Of 1992 12th-graders whose first institution was a community college and earned
30 or more credits from community colleges by December 2000, distribution by
the ratio of community college credits to all undergraduate credits, average credits
earned in community colleges, and average total undergraduate credits earned..... 61
23. Of 1992 12th-graders whose first institution of attendance was a community
college and who earned any credits from community colleges by December 2000,
percent distribution by "community college residence" category............................. 62
24. Demographic background characteristics of 1992 12th-graders for whom the
community college was the first institution of attendance and who earned
any credits from community colleges by December 2000, by community
college residence category....................................................................................... 64
25. Secondary school background characteristics of 1992 12th-graders for whom
the community college was the first institution of attendance and who earned
any credits from community colleges by December 2000, by community
college residence category....................................................................................... 66
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Tables (continued)
Table Number Page
26. Major features of postsecondary entrance and first calendar year attendance of
1992 12th-graders for whom the community college was the first institution of
attendance, by community college residence category............................................. 68
27. The first calendar year of course work: completion rates in 46 course categories
by 1992 12th-graders who began in four-year colleges versus those who began in
community colleges, and those beginning community college students who
subsequently became Homeowners and Tenants..................................................... 72
28. Of 1992 12th-graders who entered postsecondary education by June 1994, percent
who used grants or scholarships, loans, and college work-study funds to finance
their education, by type of first institution of attendance, and by community
college residence category........................................................................................ 76
29. Major features of postsecondary attendance and performance after the first
calendar year of enrollment for 1992 12th-graders for whom the community
college was the first institution of attendance and who earned any credits from
community colleges by December 2000, by community college residence
category.................................................................................................................... 78
30. Of 1992 12th-graders who started in community colleges and earned more than
30 credits from community colleges, the proportion earning associate degrees
from community colleges by December 2000, and the proportion for whom
the associate degree was the highest degree earned, by community college
residence category and transfer status...................................................................... 82
31. Postsecondary attainment of 1992 12th-graders for whom the community
college was the first institution of attendance and who earned any credits from
community colleges by December 2000, by community college residence
category.................................................................................................................... 83
32. Logistic account of factors associated with transfer from a community college
to a four-year college in the histories of 1992 12th-graders who started their
postsecondary careers at community colleges and earned any credits from
community colleges by December 2000.................................................................. 86
33. Logistic account of factors associated with earning a terminal associate
degree from a community college in the histories of 1992 12th-graders who
started their post-secondary careers at community colleges, earned any credits
from community colleges, and did not transfer to a four-year college.................... 89
V. The Third Portrait: Moving On—Community College "Graduates"
34. Highest degree earned through December 2000 by 1992 12th-graders who
started their postsecondary education in community colleges, by attainment in
community colleges.................................................................................................. 95
35. For 1992 12th-graders who started in community colleges, the number of
remedial courses taken, ratio of occupational credits to all undergraduate
credits, and mean total credits earned as community colleges through December
2000, by consolidated community college attainment group................................... 97
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Tables (continued)
Table Number Page
36. Of 1992 12th-graders who started in community colleges and earned
associate degrees from community colleges, the proportion who transferred
to a four-year college and proportion who earned bachelor’s degrees by
December 2000, by associate degree major............................................................... 98
37. Of 1992 12th-graders who started in community colleges, a comparison of
those who earned associate degrees with those who earned more than 60
credits but no degree by December 2000, by continuity of employment in
1997, 1998, and 1999............................................................................................... 100
38. For 1992 12th-graders whose first institution of attendance was a community
college, the degree of congruence between occupation in 1999 and field of
study, by community college attainment status....................................................... 103
39. Occupation in 1999 for 1992 12th-graders who started postsecondary education
in a community college, and who earned more than 10 credits from community
colleges, by community college attainment status.................................................. 105
40. The "empirical core curriculum" of 1992 12th-graders who started in a
community college and earned 30 or more credits from community colleges
who were working in technical and computer-related occupations in 1999:
top 35 courses by percentage of total credits earned from community colleges...... 107
VI. The ‘Cooling Out’/Diversion Critique Revisited
41. Changes in education expectations between 1992 and 1994 for 1992 12th-
graders whose first postsecondary institution was a community college and
who entered through January 1993, by gender and race/ethnicity ......................... 111
42. Logistic account of factors in bachelor’s degree completion by December 2000
for all 1992 12th-graders who started in community colleges and earned any
credits from community colleges............................................................................ 115
Appendix C
C-1 Of 1992 12th-graders who began their postsecondary studies in a sub-
baccalaureate institution, percentage distribution by type of school first attended... 139
C-2 Percent of all 1992 12th-graders who applied to a four-year college, by
consistency of level of education expectations and quintile of high school
Academic Resources................................................................................................ 139
C-3 The empirical summer term community college curriculum of 1992 12th-graders
based in 4-year colleges who were incidental users of community colleges .......... 140
C-4 Remediation, course withdrawals and repeats, and grade point average during
the first calendar year of attendance as a community college by 1992 12th-graders
who started their postsecondary education in a community college, by number
of credits earned in the first calendar year ............................................................... 141
C-5 Bachelor’s degree majors of 1992 12th-graders who were community college
transfer students versus those who began in four-year colleges (degrees earned by
December 2000)....................................................................................................... 141
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Tables (continued)
Table Number Page
C-6 Percent distribution of associate degree majors of 1992 12th-graders who started
in and received the degree from a community college by December 2000, by
community college residence history ...................................................................... 142
C-7 Distribution of certificates awarded to1992 12th-graders through December 2000
by type of institution awarding certificate, and field of certificate.......................... 143
C-8 Ratio of grade point average (GPA) at community colleges to GPA at four-year
colleges of 1992 12th-graders who started at a community college and transferred
to a four-year college, by community college graduation status.............................. 143
C-9 Percent of 1982 and 1992 12th-graders who took remedial courses in
postsecondary institutions, by type and intensity of remedial work and by type
of first institution attended....................................................................................... 144
C-10 Percent of 1995-96 beginning postsecondary students whose first institution
was a community college, and percent who ever attended a community college
by 2001, by race/ethnicity and age in December 1995............................................ 145
C-11 Selected demographic and secondary school background characteristics of 1992
12th-graders who became reverse transfer students versus those of other students
who started in four-year colleges and those who started in and earned any credits
from community colleges ........................................................................................ 146
C-12 Relation between the ratio of credits in occupational areas to total credits earned
to degree completion for 1992 12th-graders who started in community colleges,
earned 30 or more credits from community colleges, and 60 percent or more of
all credits from community colleges ("homeowners" group).................................. 147
C-13 Logistic account of factors associated with earning less than 20 credits in the
first calendar year of attendance by 1992 12th-graders who started in community
colleges.................................................................................................................... 147
Appendix D
D-1 Percent of 1992 12th-graders whose first institution of attendance was a
community college and who earned 30 or more credits from community colleges
through December 2000 who successfully completed any credits in 78 course
aggregates, by highest degree earned....................................................................... 149
Appendix E
E-1 Financial aid received during the first year (1995–96) of attendance by beginning
postsecondary students 20 years old and younger, and ratio of net cost to family
income, by type of first institution attended in 1995–96.......................................... 154
Appendix F
F-1 First to second year persistence of beginning postsecondary students in 1995–96,
by type of first institution attended and age in December 1995............................... 158
F-2 First to second year persistence of 1992 12th-graders, by delay of entry to
postsecondary education and type of institution first attended ................................ 159
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