For all the praise that free community college has received as a policy for success, the actual results of community colleges are surprisingly weak.
Only 14 percent of students who start in community college, then transfer to a four-year college to earn a degree complete a degree within six years, according to a report from the Community College Research Center, the Aspen Institute College Excellence Fund, and the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
The report makes it clear that colleges have failed at successfully integrating transfer students into the student body. That the completion rate is so low raises strong concern that advocating community college as a path toward a bachelor’s degree ignores the facts of the higher education system.
Even when students don’t transfer from a community college, only 34 percent of students complete a degree or certificate within six years, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Community colleges aren’t designed as an affordable beginning toward a bachelor’s degree. That should be celebrated, too; community colleges offer practical vocational training and provide an education for future nurses and other valuable jobs. A four-year degree isn’t necessarily the goal, nor should it be. The low six-year graduation rates, however, is concerning. An expansion of free community college isn’t a guarantee of improved degree completion.
For low-income students, federal grants already cover community college tuition. The financial struggles those students face tend to be affording books, rent, and earning enough income to support themselves while in school. Making community college free for all would benefit wealthier students, not low-income students. If the goal is to improve degree completion for low-income students, guiding them to community colleges is a terrible idea. Almost 57 percent of the lowest-income dependent students graduate within six years from a four-year college, but only 33 percent do the same at a community college.
Community colleges might compare favorably to for-profit colleges, though that debate isn’t settled. Community colleges are also valuable. As a hidden policy gem to improve four-year degree completion rates, however, it’s all hot air. Making community colleges a first step toward a four-year college risks crowding out students who benefit from a two-year degree or a certificate program, and could complicate the problems the students and colleges already face.
For the future of higher education, tough questions have to be asked about the goals, and the results, of the institutions that claim to succeed in preparing young Americans for the future.
