Why Do Community College Students Enroll In Community Colleges?

Introduction
Higher educational attainment is critically important in an increasingly complex and knowledge-based economy. By 2020, an estimated 35 percent of job openings will require a bachelor’s degree (BA), and 30 percent will require some college or an associate’s degree (AA) (Kirp, 2014). It is not surprising that an increasing number of individuals are enrolling in the 1,000 community colleges across the nation. 38 percent of all undergraduates are enrolled in a community college, which enroll “a greater proportion of non-white, low income, first-generation college students” (Dynarski, 2015). Nevertheless, many students who enroll in community colleges are not completing their degrees and dropping out. Indeed, only 39 percent of students who enroll in a community college graduate within six years (Kolodner, 2015). The American Institute for Research notes that these dropouts amounts to an estimated total public cost of $ 4.5 billion (Kirp, 2014).

City University of New York (CUNY) community colleges are not “immune” to these trends (Zineta et al, 2013), and are coping with persistently low graduation rates. From 2005 to 2009, the average percentage of first time enrolled students in CUNY community colleges, completing an Associate’s Degree within 6 years was only 28 percent (CUNY Office of Institutional Research and Assessment (OIRA),
2015). Further, an estimated 51 percent of CUNY community colleges completely drop out of the system after six years of enrollment in a CUNY community college (De Avila, 2011). This has significant micro (i.e. social mobility) and macro (i.e. squandering of public resources) consequences. That said several research questions arose from this problem, and this report will attempt to answer these questions:

 What are some of the micro and macro benefits of raising graduation rates?

The research demonstrates that raising graduation rates brings significant micro benefits to individuals who complete their AA degree, including increased labor participation rates; higher earnings potential, annually and lifetime earnings; less likely to default on student loans; and positive health outcomes (i.e.
example). From a macro perspective, raising graduation rates—even 10 percentage points – results in regional economic benefits to New York City and New York State’s revenues and expenditures, including increased regional economic benefit, particularly increased revenues and lower government
expenditures.

 What are some of the major underlining causes that prevent CUNY community college students from completing their degrees?

Nonacademic reasons, unstructured college experience, and a high number of students needing remediation that leads to a lack of academic momentum, are underlining causes that result in many students failing to complete their degrees.

 With the previously mentioned causes in mind, is there any CUNY program or programs that are in place or could be put in place to significantly raise graduation rates?

The CUNY ASAP program is a proven program that has raised graduation rates within CUNY, according to CUNY internal reports and external reports by reputable organizations like MDRC and CCRC. The program addresses some of the previously mentioned major underlining causes, and it should be expanded CUNY-wide, covering all incoming students—not simply a minority of the student population. Although these programs are beyond the scope of this project, it is also recommended that CUNY and NYC DOE continue to collaborate and expand their pre-college programs to promote more college readiness to increase college readiness and promote student retention and degree completion. Finally, CUNY should work with all the different departments (i.e. advising), staff, and faculty to collect data that detail at-risk factors for students dropping out for each semester. This will allow X, Y, and Z.