Supporters of community colleges contend that they increase baccalaureate attainment by providing access to higher education for students who would otherwise not attend college. Critics, on the other hand, argue that they decrease baccalaureate attainment for students who would otherwise attend a four-year institution.
Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study, this article examines the impact of community colleges on baccalaureate attainment by estimating new models that control for pathways of enrollment while using different measures of educational expectations and correcting for college choice.
Findings suggest that community colleges significantly reduce the probability of attaining a bachelor’s degree, an effect that remains after having taken into account nontraditional enrollment pathways, educational expectations, and self-selection into two-year and four-year institutions.
This article appears in Research in Higher Education, vol. 47.
