2 Year vs. 4 Year Colleges

1
2 Year vs. 4 Year Colleges

• By
• Lyle Culver
• Rolando Garcia
• Marta Menendez
• Anouchka Rachelson

2
Does Community College vs. 4 year College
Attendance Influence Students Educational Plans?

• ByPascarella, Hagedorn, Edison, Terenzini, Nora

3
Background

• 2 years students make same gains in standardized
  measures as 4 year
• 2 year 4 year students of similar educational
  attainment background have parity in job
  prestige, earnings, job stability, unemployment
  rate, job satisfaction

4
Background (cont)

• 2 year college students are significantly
  disadvantaged in comparison to 4 year students in
  terms of educational attainments
• 2 year college students are 15 less likely to
  complete a degree in the same amount of time as
  students in a 4 year college

5
Possible Reasons

• Difficulty in transferring from a 2 year to a 4
  year
• Acceptance into Institution
• Financial Aid
• Acceptance of credits
• Difficulty in adjusting to academic demands
• 2 year colleges lower students educational
  aspirations goals
• Cooling Out

6
Purpose

• Test the Cooling Off hypothesis that CC lower
  students precollege plans to obtain a BA degree.

7
Methods

• 1,645 students from 18 4-year and 5 2-year
  colleges from 16 states throughout the country
  participated
• Subjects were randomly sampled from incoming
  first year class and given an NSSL-designed
  precollege survey gathering data on
• Student demographic characteristics and
  background
• Student lifetime educational plans
• Student expectations of college
• Students orientations toward learning

8
Methods

• Participants completed reading comprehension,
  mathematics, and critical thinking modules of the
  CAAP
• Follow up testing was conducted after 1st year
  and 2nd year
• Final sample was 1,645 students
• (119 attended 2-year and 1,526 attend 4-year)
• Drop out rates for 2-year students was 69.68
  compared to 54.25 for 4-year students
• Dependent variables
• End of 1st year and 2nd year lifetime educational
  plans
• Independent variable
• Student attended a 2-year or 4-year institution

9
Results

• Cross Tabs (Institutional Populations)
• 1st year 11.8 of 2-year students lowered
  lifetime educational plans vs. 5.2 of 4-year
  students
• 2nd year - 22.8 of 2-year students lowered
  lifetime educational plans vs. 4.2 of 4-year
  students

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Results (cont)

• Cross Tabs (National Populations)
• 1st year 15.97 of 2-year students lowered
  lifetime educational plans vs. 4.9 of 4-year
  students
• 2nd year 21.0 of 2-year students lowered
  lifetime educational plans vs. 4.3 of 4-year
  students

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Results (cont)

• Regression (Institutional Populations)
• 1st year Controlling for confounding influences
  there was no significant effect of 2-year vs.
  4-year attendance on changing educational plans
• 2nd year Controlling for confounding influences
  there was a significant effect of 2-year vs.
  4-year attendance on changing educational plans
• The magnitude of this influence was
• 1st year 2-year students are 2.3 more likely
  to change plans that 4-year students
• 2nd year - 2-year students are 31 more likely to
  change plans that 4-year students

12
Results (cont)

• Regression (National Populations)
• 1st year Controlling for confounding influences
  there was no significant effect of 2-year vs.
  4-year attendance on changing educational plans
• 2nd year Controlling for confounding influences
  there was a significant effect of 2-year vs.
  4-year attendance on changing educational plans
• The magnitude of this influence was
• 1st year 2-year students are 3.4 more likely
  to change plans that 4-year students
• 2nd year - 2-year students are 19.8 more likely
  to change plans that 4-year students

13
Results (cont)

• Conditional Effects (Institutional Populations)
• Controlling for confounding influences, attending
  a 2-year college had a modest (nonsignificant)
  negative effect on end of first-year educational
  plans for students with different levels of
  precollege plans
• For students who planned to obtain a graduate or
  advanced professional degree, attending a 2-year
  college had a small positive (nonsignificant)
  effect.
• For students with relatively low levels of
  precollege plans, attending a 2-year college had
  a significant negative effect.

14
Results (cont)

• Conditional Effects (National Populations)
• Controlling for confounding influences, attending
  a 2-year college had a significant negative
  effect on end of first-year educational plans for
  students with different levels of precollege
  plans
• For students who planned to obtain a graduate or
  advanced professional degree, attending a 2-year
  college had a small positive (nonsignificant)
  effect.
• For students with relatively low levels of
  precollege plans, attending a 2-year college had
  a substantial significant negative effect.

15
Conclusions

• This study supports Clarks cooling out hypothesis

CC student 20 31 more likely to lower plans
by end of second year
16
Conclusions (cont)

• Findings were based on correlational data
• Data did not allow researchers to identify
  specific environmental factors in the 2-year
  institutions that would cause students to lower
  educational plans

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Policy Implication

• 2-year schools must provide support/mentoring to
  students who enroll for the purpose of
  transferring and obtaining a BA
• Administrators must focus on removing the second
  class status/aura attached to 2-year institutions
• Advisors and counselors should not demonstrate
  behaviors or attitudes that discourage students
  from pursuing educational goals

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Rethinking Cooling Out at Public Community
Colleges
An Examination of Fiscal and Demographic Trends
in Higher Education and the Rise of Statewide
Articulation Agreements
19
Article

• Anderson, Gregory M., Alfonso, Mariana, Sun,
  Jefferey C. (2006). Rethinking Cooling Out at
  Public Community Colleges An Examination of
  Fiscal and Demographic Trends in Higher Education
  and the Rise of Statewide Articulation
  Agreements. Teachers College Record. 108, 422-451.

20

• Large number of students entering community
  colleges and identifying terminal certificates or
  occupational associate degrees instead of A.As or
  transfer credits
• 1980s to 1990s major drive by community colleges
  to form articulation agreements

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Purpose of community college ?

• Social Mobility
• Reducing racial-ethnic, gender, and class
  inequalities
• Cooling out diverting students from transfer
  degrees to vocational degree and certificates

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Contradictory nature of community colleges

• Basis of study by Dougherty (1994)
• Reproduces of inequity
• Promoters of social mobility

23
Basis of research question

• What fiscal, political and demographic forces
  account for articulation agreements?
• What role does the cooling out process play
  when trying to account for the impact of
  statewide articulation agreements?

24
Research Hypothesis

• Interests of state politicians the cause for
  increase in articulation agreements
• Controlling costs of higher education in light of
  other statewide expenditures

25
Theoretical Frameworks to address research
questions

• Functionalists view community colleges as
  integral to enhance educational opportunities for
  underrepresented groups such as women and
  minorities
• Neo- Marxists - view community colleges as a
  cooling out place offering vocational degrees
  subject to the demands of industry
• Institutionalists- state universities supported
  development of community colleges so as not to
  devalue the baccalaureate degrees.
• Statists local, state, and federal government
  support of community colleges as a means to serve
  multiple interests - to create jobs and job
  training

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Applicability of Theories

• Neo-Marxists do not take into account the fact
  that corporations like Microsoft have their own
  certification programs
• Institutionalists delay of 2 years would not
  stop the increase in the number of baccalaureate
  degrees awards
• Functionalists does not take into account the
  special interests of state government and
  conflicting roles
• Statists articulation agreements seen as a
  means for governments top stay in power by
  diverting resources to areas other than education
  as a response to the demands of a predominately
  white and aging electorate

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Fiscal Trends in Higher Education

• From 1985 to 1995 financial decline for public
  higher education relative to other state
  expenditures
• Sharp increases in state expenditure as a share
  of gross state product
• Significant disparities in FTE expenditures
  between 2 and 4 yr institutions

28
Articulation Agreements were a response to Fiscal
Woes

• Legislators viewed community colleges as a
  cheaper alternative to 4 year degree institutions
• Articulation agreements seen as policy to divert
  students to community colleges for the first two
  years
• Lower FTE spending for the state

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Challenges and Tensions

• Electorate is predominately white and from 35 to
  65
• Minorities and disadvantages groups still grossly
  underrepresented despite growth in numbers of
  students attending higher education
• Tuition costs continue to escalate and family
  income disparities continue to grow by 1025
  only half of all eligible college bound seniors
  will be able to attend higher education

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Impact to the middle class

• Important constituency
• State government trying to balance fiscal demands
  with the demands of their consistency to provide
  higher education
• Community colleges seen as a cost effective means
  of controlling the flow of incoming students to 4
  year institutions enhancing cooling out process
  
• Middle class students seeing community colleges
  as an affordable alternative facilitated by
  articulation agreements

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Long Term Impacts

• Minority representation in community colleges
  disproportionately high are most prone to
  cooling out
• Middle Class take over of community colleges

32
Community College Effects on StudentsA Review
of Recent Evidence
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WHAT?

• 2 year community colleges
• - Diverse
• - Popular
• BUT---largely ignored

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WHY?

• Research Liberal Arts Colleges
• - set academic public standard Americans
  follow
• More deviation from standards
• less prestige
• lower academic excellence
• Viewpoint
• a catch basin for those few students unable or
  unwilling to enter regular colleges

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Reason?

• Study by - American Council on Education
• Relatively Lower Cost
• community college vs. 4yr institution
• Tuition - community colleges vs. universities
• 44 of the average costs of 4 yr public
  university
• 10 of average costs of private university

36
Developmental Impacts of Community Colleges

• Relatively new studies
• compared cognitive gains between CCs and 4-year
  institutions
• Small Samples
• 6 community colleges ? 6 states
• 4-year institutions ? 15 states

37
Developmental Impacts of Community Colleges

• Instruments used
• Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency
  (CAAP)
• Tested in
• Reading Comprehension
• Quantitative Reasoning
• Critical Thinking
• Science Reasoning
• Writing Skills
• Measured
• intellectual skills capabilities acquired
  during 1st 2 years in college

38
Results

• Cognitive growth
• all students developed at about same level of
  proficiency
• CC students make significantly more progress in
  1st year than 4-yr students.

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Conclusions

• CC students are 15 less likely to complete
  degrees in same amount of time
• CC attendance may grant selectivity to transfer
  student
• Economic advantages
• CCs foster cognitive growth at same degree of
  proficiency as 4-year
• Transfer students so as well in labor market as
  4-year

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Conclusions

• Labor Market
• - Economic returns vary by field
• Largest payoffs for men
• Technical degrees (computers and engineering)
• Business
• Largest payoffs for women
• Business Health
• NOTE economic returns for women gt men for both
  associates and vocational credentials

41
References

• Pascarella, E. T. (1999). New studies track
  community college effects on students. Community
  College Journal, 69, 8-14.

42
Impacts of Two-Year and Four-Year College
Attendance on Learning Orientations

• Pierson, Wolniak, Pascarella, Flowers (2003)
  Review of Higher Education

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Question

• Aside from academic achievement, what other
  factors can researchers test to compare and
  contrast the impact of attending a two-year
  college versus a four-year college during the
  first two years of study?

44
Background

• Students who begin at 2-year colleges and aspire
  a bachelors degree are 15 less likely to
  complete than their 4-year peers.
• There is evidence that 2-year college attendance
  lowers students educational plans.

45
Background (cont)

• However, if students from 2-year colleges
  complete their bachelors degree, they enjoy
  equal job stability, income, and job satisfaction.

46
Background (cont)

• Students who transfer from 2-year
  colleges
• often can get accepted to more selective
  4-year colleges.
• - generally experience a drop in grades
  after transferring to 4-year schools.

47
National Study of Student Learning

• Longitudinal study
• Statistically controlled competing influences
  (age, sex, ethnicity, ability, etc.)
• Result 2-year college students made equal gains
  as 4-year students regarding reading
  comprehension, math, critical thinking, writing
  skills, scientific reasoning.

48
This study Effects on Students Learning
Orientations

• Method
• The team of researchers studied
• 18 four-year and 5 two-year colleges
• variety of institutions
• from 16 states
• using IPEDS data

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Student Sample and Instrument

• 1992- Initial data collection (pre-college)
• Random sample of incoming freshmen
• 3,840 students from 23 schools participated
• 1993- Follow-up (after 1st year)
• 2,685 students
• 1994 - Final data collection (after 2nd year)
• 1,761 students
• Response rate 2-year schools 53.2
• 4-year schools 65.6

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Variables

• Four measures of learning orientations with
  sample survey items (Likert scale)
• Openness to Diversity/Challenge
• I enjoy having discussions with people whose
  ideas and values are different.
• 2. Learning for Self-Understanding
• I prefer courses in which the material helps me
  understand something about myself.

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Variables cont

• 3. Internal Locus of Attribution for Success
• The grade I get depends on how hard the
  instructor grades, not how carefully I study.
• 4. Preference for Higher-Order Cognitive
  Activities
• I prefer to do assignments in which I have to
  analyze and interpret what Ive read rather then
  just summarize and report.

52
2 Sets of Control Variables

• 1. Pre-college Characteristics
• Pre-college scores on all four learning
  orientations from 1992
• Sex
• Race/ethnicity
• Socio-economic status
• Pre-college academic motivation
• Age
• High school grades
• ESL or not
• Previous volunteer work
• Academic ability (based on standardized composite
  score)

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Control Variables cont

• 2. Measures of students experiences in college
• Cumulative credit hours completed
• Hours per week spent studying and working
• Self-reported college grades
• Perception of teaching received
• Course-related interaction with peers
• Extracurricular involvement
• College volunteer work

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Results

• Effects of attending a 2-year (versus 4-year)
  college
• Statistically significant growth in 1st and 2nd
  year of study for Item 1 Openness to
  Diversity/Challenge
• Significant positive effect on 2nd year for Item
  2 Learning for Self-understanding
• Significant positive effect on end of 1st year
  for Item 3 Internal Locus of Attribution for
  Academic Success
• No significant effects for Item 4 Preference for
  Higher-Order Cognitive Activities

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Conditional Effects

• In both 1st and 2nd year of study, male students
  benefited more from attending a community college
  regarding Item 1 (Openness to Diversity)
• Also males benefited from 1st year attendance at
  CC regarding Item 4 (Learning for
  Self-Understanding)
• White students showed the largest positive
  effects for Items 1 and 4

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Conditional Effects (cont)

• Students of color showed greater end of 2nd year
  growth than Whites in Item 2
  Preference for Higher-Order Cognitive
  Activities
• Overall, ESL students benefited from attending a
  2-year college however, for end of 2nd year ESL
  students attending a CC had a significant
  negative effect regarding Item 2 (the effect on
  native speakers was positive, but not significant
  at alpha.05)

57
Conclusions

• These results counter the common perception
  that attending a 2-year college to a less
  developmentally influential undergraduate
  experience (p.315).
• This study found that 2-year college students
  showed equal or modestly larger positive changes
  in learning orientations than their peers at
  4-year institutions.

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Conclusions (cont)

• Despite adjusting the survey results for 25
  different academic and non-academic factors, the
  study could not find one factor that
  significantly contributed to the greater gains
  made by 2-year students.
• It is possible that the demographic
  characteristics at the chosen 2-year colleges
  contributed to gains in Item 1 (Openness to
  Diversity/Challenge)

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Conclusions (cont)

• Impacts of 2-year colleges tended to be mainly
  conditional, not general.
• There was also evidence that students from the
  lower half of socio-economic distribution
  benefited more from attending a 2-year school on
  Items 2 and 4. For the upper half, however, the
  opposite was true.

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Conclusions (cont)

• Finally, the positive effect of attending a
  community college on two-year gains in Openness
  to Diversity/Challenge was 16 times larger for
  students who tested in the upper 50 of
  pre-college academic ability.

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Questions Answers

• Questionnaire Discussion
• Q A