Assessing Student Outcomes in Community Colleges

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Assessing Student Outcomes in Community Colleges

• Thomas Bailey
• Community College Research Center
• Teachers College/Columbia University
• Education Writers Association Conference
• Juggling Roles Where do Community Colleges Fit?
• San Antonio, TX
• February 18, 2006

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Outline

• Students outcomes are complex in community
  colleges
• Institutional graduation rates are low but vary
  widely
• Individual graduation rates are higher
• Are graduation rates too low?Yes, but
• Possible stories

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Complexity of Student Outcomes

• Part-time students
• Older students with varied goals
• Transfer without graduation
• Students face greater social and economic barriers

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Outcome Measures

• Institutional graduation
• Individual graduation
• Retention
• Many intermediate achievements
• Transfer
• Employment

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Institutional Graduation Rates

• National Center for Education Statistics(Student
  Right to Know)3 year graduation rates for first
  time, full-time degree-seeking students
• National Average30.0
• LowestMaryland12.1
• HighestSouth Dakota64.4

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Three-Year Graduation Rates for Associate
Students in 2004
Retrieved from www.higheredinfo.org
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CC First PSE StudentsPercent Distribution by
Highest Outcome in All PSE Within Eight Years
(NELS)
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Retention Rates First-Time College Freshmen
Returning Their Second Year (2002)
Retrieved from www.higheredinfo.org
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Percent Distribution by Total Credits Earned in
All PSE Within Eight Yearsby Initial Institution
Type
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Educational Access and SESExperience by 2000 for
HS Class of 1992
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Are Graduation Rates Too Low?

• Students face many problems
• Colleges have fewer resources
• Students have many goals but are ambitious
• Completion varies by race and income

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SES of CC and BA Students
Source NELS
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Test Scores for CC and BA Students
Source NELS
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Enrollment Characteristics of CC and BA Students
Source NELS
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Undergraduate Student Characteristics, Percent by
Institution Type (2003-04 School Year)
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Current Fund Expenditures (per student, 1995-96)
Source U.S. Department of Education. (2002).
Digest of Education Statistics.
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First-Time Community College StudentsHighest
Level of Education Expected, 1995-96
Source Authors calculations using data from
BPS96/01.
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CC First PSE Students in Various GroupsPercent
Distribution by Highest Outcome in All PSE
Within Eight Years (NELS)
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Stories

• Programs with good outcomes for strong and middle
  class students
• What accounts for variation in outcomes?
• What are colleges doing to address the problems
  of low income and minority students?
• Success stories of students beating the
  oddsaccounts of the barriers that students must
  overcome
• Why is funding low in community colleges when
  they serve the students with the greatest
  problems?

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Useful Websites

• www.ccrc.tc.columbia.edu
• www.higheredinfo.org
• www.achievingthedream.org