College Pathways and the Workforce
“In the current era, ‘the image of the 'traditional' college student as a recent high school graduate who is enrolled full time at a four-year, residential college is no longer the reality for most ... Large numbers of students enroll in community college directly out of high school or enroll in a two- or four-year institution for the first time several years after graduating high school. Moreover, as the economy and technology change the skills required to obtain (or keep) a well-paying job, many working adults find themselves in a position where they need to obtain a postsecondary degree to remain competitive in the labor force. Adult learners can also consist of military veterans, or those who earned some postsecondary credit previously but never completed a certificate or degree.’”
“‘If colleges want to get more community college students into four-year programs they must change their programs ... ‘Fewer than a third of community college students transfer to a four-year college within six years of their initial enrollment, ... More troubling is that only 13 percent of students who started at a community college went on to earn a bachelor’s degree within six years. That includes a 42 percent bachelor’s degree attainment rate of 2010 students who transferred to a four-year college.’”
Inside Higher Ed, January 6, 2020: “ Expanding Pathways to College,” by Scott Jaschik
Ithaka S+R, December 12, 2019: “Expanding Pathways to College Enrollment and Degree Attainment,” by Cindy Le, Elizabeth Davidson Pisacreta, James Dean Ward, and Jesse Margolis (34 pages, PDF)