Data Shows Community College Students Face Transfer Barriers
Credit: andresr / E+ / Getty Images- Data for students who started community college for the first time in fall 2017 shows that only 31.6% transferred to a four-year school within six years.
- That figure was higher for students with prior dual enrollment experience.
- Roughly 46.9% of dual enrollment students transferred to a four-year school, and those who did transfer had a bachelor’s completion rate slightly above 60%.
- Community college students most commonly transferred to public four-year institutions and generally had higher completion rates there.
Few community college students transfer to four-year schools, and those who do face barriers to finishing a bachelor’s degree.
That’s according to fresh data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, which tracks community college transfer rates as part of its Tracking Transfer series.
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Data for students who started community college for the first time in fall 2017 shows that only 31.6% transferred to a four-year school within six years.
Those who did transfer had an uphill battle to complete their four-year degree. Less than half, 49.7%, completed a bachelor’s degree. Students who transferred after receiving an associate degree or certificate were slightly more likely to finish a bachelor’s degree.
Community college students most commonly transferred to public four-year institutions, and that’s where they had the most success. More than 70% of students who transferred to a public four-year school earned a bachelor’s degree within six years.
These figures for the fall 2017 cohort show a leveling off of transfer and bachelor’s completion rates after several years of gains.
The timing for the fall 2017 cohort is important: If they transferred to a four-year institution after completing a two-year associate degree, the COVID-19 pandemic likely disrupted their final year of school.
Dual enrollment tended to boost students’ chances of successfully transferring to a four-year school and finishing a bachelor’s degree.
Students who started community college in fall 2017 with a prior dual enrollment experience saw a much higher transfer rate than those starting community college for the first time ever.
Roughly 46.9% of prior dual enrollment students transferred to a four-year school, and those who did transfer had a bachelor’s completion rate slightly above 60%.
Community college enrollment has been bolstered in recent years by growth in both dual enrollment and adult learner enrollment, but multiple reports have shown that dual enrollment students have better transfer outcomes than other students.
Previous Tracking Transfer research from the Community College Research Center in collaboration with the National Student Clearinghouse found that students with prior dual enrollment experience have stronger transfer outcomes in every state.
That previous research noted that these two types of students — those new to higher education and those who have taken some college courses — are very different.
“For example, other research has consistently found that students who take college courses in high school are more likely to be from families with higher levels of postsecondary education,” that report reads.
“What is more, PDE (prior dual enrollment) community college entrants already have a head start on college from credits they accumulated in high school.”
Previous research has also found uneven transfer rates along income lines, with Pell Grant recipients generally less likely to transfer out of community colleges.
More recent transfers across all of higher education are on the rise.
A separate analysis by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center earlier this year found that the number of students who transferred to a new institution in fall 2024 grew by 4.4% from fall 2023.