The Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University received funding from the Ford Foundation in May 2003 to examine the role of community colleges in promoting educational attainment of blacks and Hispanics. This project entailed analyzing existing national and state databases on students in undergraduate programs to better understand the patterns and correlates of degree completion and transfer among minority students who enter higher education through community colleges.

Although there has been extensive research on college retention and graduation, we are updating the existing research by using data from the recent Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study of 1996-2001 and National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, which allow more detailed and current analyses. In addition, we have enhanced the traditional models that use only student characteristics by including estimations of the effects of individual institutional characteristics on student outcomes. The institutional characteristics come from the National Center for Educational Statistic's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). We also incorporate an analysis of the recent IPEDS graduation rate survey data from community colleges to assess institutional characteristics on overall student graduation rate performance. To complement the national analyses, we use findings from a study using student record information from the Washington State Community and Technical College System to track the educational attainment and earnings outcomes over five years of adult students with a high school education or less who are entering the community college system for the first time. Finally, our research includes an extensive review of literature about persistence and degree-attainment relevant to community colleges. This analysis of existing datasets is the foundation for fieldwork carried out in spring 2005 at community colleges that explored in greater depth the effect of college organization, management, and other institutional features on student degree attainment.

As a result of this 18-month research project, CCRC has published work that explores the implications of our findings for practice and policy. Please view the reports listed below to view tabulations of the latest data on community colleges and minority student achievement from these datasets.

There will be future research in this area.