Community college students far from a four-year university less likely to transfer, study finds

Madera Community College is located in the rural Central Valley. Fresno State, about 22 miles away, is the closest public four-year university.

Credit: Ashleigh Panoo / EdSource

Why is it harder for community college students studying away from four-year universities to transfer?

The answer to that question – which is at the heart of a new study presented during a webinar last week – could influence the thinking of state higher education leaders on proposals to expand the supply of degrees from community colleges.

Most California community colleges are within a 25-mile drive of the nearest California State University or University of California campus, according to the study by the RP Group, the independent organization nonprofit that conducts research for California’s system of 116 community colleges. But among the 29 colleges that aren’t, a research team led by Darla Cooper and Daisy Segovia found lower transfer rates between two-year and four-year institutions.

Gaps were most visible at the seven community colleges located furthest from public universities. Colleges located at least 87 miles from the nearest UC or CSU had a transfer rate of 28 percent, the researchers said, trailing colleges within a 25-mile radius by 8 percentage points.

The study noted a smaller gap between a mid-tier of community colleges located closer to four-year institutions and those located within a 25-mile radius. A third of community college students located between 27 and 78 miles from a California university transferred, compared with 36 percent of those attending a campus where a four-year institution was 25 miles or less.

“We need to take education to where the students are and not force students to go to where the education is,” said Cooper, executive director of the RP Group.

Proximity to a four-year public university is far from the only factor linked to transfer rates at community colleges. The RP Group’s own research has identified many common practices among students who continue their degrees at four-year institutions, such as taking transferable math and English courses during their first year, consulting with an academic advisor and s ‘involved in student programs like Umoja and Puente, Cooper said. and Segovia, principal investigator at the RP group.

Money is also a factor: California community college students surveyed in 2019 cited the cost of attending college as one of the top barriers to continuing their education.

The new study examining the role of distance in transfer rates comes at a time when concerns about regional labor shortages in fields like education and nursing have fueled debate over how to making bachelor’s degrees more accessible to students who can fill these workforce shortages.

California’s Comprehensive Higher Education Plan, first published in 1960, left bachelor’s degrees the purview of four-year universities. But state lawmakers have relaxed that constraint in recent years. In 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill allowing community colleges to add up to 30 baccalaureate programs per year, leading to dozens of new offerings. The California Community Colleges website now lists 45 approved bachelor’s degree programs.

Still, state law places significant controls on which baccalaureate degrees community colleges can greenlight. Colleges cannot begin a four-year degree if CSU or UC already offers it and must consult with university officials before proposed degrees move forward. The CSU and UC can object to proposals they say duplicate existing college degrees — rules that apply even in rural areas not served by a Cal State or California campus. the CPU.

This framework has sometimes put community colleges at odds with their colleagues at four-year institutions. The board of governors of the statewide community college system approved a program last year over CSU’s formal objections.

A measure that would have further blurred the lines between two- and four-year institutions failed in the 2024 legislative session. Newsom vetoed a bill in September that would have allowed 15 community colleges to offering bachelor’s degrees in nursing, opening the door for community colleges to create degree programs already offered at CSU.

Researchers investigate ‘university teaching deserts’

The RP group’s work builds on previous studies exploring what researchers call “educational deserts,” places that had no colleges or universities, or only had one community college. A 2016 research report for the American Council on Education indicated that these communities tend to have lower levels of college achievement than the rest of the country.

The RP Group’s study – “Exploring Geographic Isolation as a Barrier to Equitable Transfer Outcomes” – tracked first-time students enrolled at a community college between 2012 and 2017 who intended to transfer at a four-year institution. He used data from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office to measure those students’ outcomes after six years. Driving distances were measured from campus to campus.

The researchers excluded Calbright, an online community college, as well as a newer community college and a college focused on students learning technical trades. This left 113 community colleges covering more than 1 million students in the study sample.

The analysis defined three categories of community colleges based on their proximity to a public university in California. Researchers dubbed the first two groups — Tier 1 schools, located at least 87 miles away, and Tier 2 schools, located 27 to 78 miles away — as colleges located in “college education deserts “. A third group of community colleges located within 25 miles of a university were not considered deserts.

Comparing the three categories revealed demographic trends. Tier 1 and Tier 2 colleges tend to enroll a higher percentage of Latino students, first-generation students, and low-income students than colleges not located in college deserts.

Researchers also observed disparities when comparing the transfer rates of students at Tier 1 institutions to those of students who were not in a college desert but shared the same race and ethnicity. For example, 20% of black students attending a Tier 1 college – those furthest from a public four-year program in California – transferred, compared to 33% of those attending a college in the closest category of a university.

“It’s a fairness issue,” Cooper said. “We wanted to see if there were any particular groups that were disadvantaged because of their geographic location in the state. »

The RP Group study also found that students at successful Tier 1 colleges more often left California to do so. In all three levels of proximity to the university, a plurality of transfer students landed on a Cal State campus. But 38 percent of Tier 1 students transferred out of state to earn a four-year degree, compared to just 16 percent of students not in a college education desert.

Future research – and possible solutions

Segovia said future research could consider not only community colleges’ proximity to California’s public universities, but also their distance from nonprofit universities and out-of-state institutions.

Looking across state lines could explain some of the variation researchers have observed in transfer rates among community colleges furthest from a public university in California.

The College of the Siskiyous, located about 200 miles from Cal Poly Humboldt but just 70 miles from Southern Oregon University, had a 32 percent transfer rate, Segovia said, beating out some community colleges located closer to public schools in four years.

The researchers also plan to survey students about how proximity to a four-year college impacts their education.

Webinar panelists discussed several barriers that prevent community college students who live far from a four-year university from earning a bachelor’s degree — and some strategies that could ease the transition.

Panelist Joshua Simon, a Lemoore College student who serves on the West Hills Community College District board, said students struggle to finance their bachelor’s degrees, costs exacerbated by a long commute to a college in four years.

“One of the hardest things is transportation,” he said. “Some students generally don’t drive, or some students don’t have public transportation…so it’s a little difficult when it comes to getting around, at least nationally or locally, around this distance of 40 miles. .”

Kevin G. Walthers, president of Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, said students from his college are often not admitted to the nearest Cal State campus, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Those who do, he said, can save money by living at home, but find that their 70- to 80-mile round trip costs $30 a day.

Cal State admissions data for fall 2023 shows that 63% of Allan Hancock students who applied to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo were accepted. Of these students, 71% registered.

“If students want to graduate in two years and they can’t afford to go to Fresno or Northridge or Bakersfield, and they can’t get into Cal Poly, they’re just stuck,” he said. he declared. “Since most of our students are Latino, they are stuck in a systemically racist attitude. There’s no way around this.

Walthers said the lack of bachelor’s degree programs has a simple solution: “Either CSU provides services here or allow Allan Hancock College to provide those services.”

Kate Mahar, associate vice president for innovation and strategic initiatives at Shasta College, said the school runs several programs with Chico State, about 80 miles to the south. A dual admissions program allows students who apply to Chico State to attend Shasta College instead; it also guarantees them a seat in Chico when they are ready to transfer, provided they meet the eligibility requirements. Students can also receive a business degree from Chico State at Shasta College.

Chico State admitted 87% of applicants to Shasta College, according to CSU admissions data for fall 2023. Nearly 53% of those students enrolled.

“They really care about us being in their service area, even though (some students) are about five hours from Chico,” she said.