Studies Of Community Colleges Indicate Students At Higher Risk Of Not Completing

Several studies have indicated that similar students who attend a community college rather than a 4 year college are less likely to complete a 4 year degree. In other words, if you can enroll at a 4year school , it increases you chances of completion. Two studies by Professor Will Doyle at Vanderbilt add to this research base

Doyle, W. R. (2009). The effect of community college enrollment on bachelor’s degree
completion. Economics of Education Review, 28(2):199–206

Abstract: Rouse [Rouse, C. E. (1995). Democratization or diversion—the effect of community-colleges
on educational-attainment. Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, 13(2), 217–224] finds
that enrollment in a community college may divert students from attaining a bachelor’s
degree. However, this result may be due to selection bias, as the population of community
college students should be quite different from those who attend 4-year institutions in
terms of both observable and unobservable characteristics. This study uses propensity score
matching to non-parametrically balance a data set from the 1996 Beginning Postsecondary
Students survey in order to overcome issues associated with selection bias. Results from a
Cox proportional hazards model indicate that attendance at a community college lowers
the hazard rate for completing a bachelor’s degree. The results are consistent with previous
studies.

Doyle, W. R. (2009c). Impact of increased academic intensity on transfer rates: An application of
matching estimators to student-unit record data. Research in Higher Education, 50(1):52–72

Abstract The impact of increased academic intensity on transfer rates from community
colleges to 4-year institutions has been estimated only from observational data, with the
possibility of selection bias. This study uses matching estimators to overcome possible
selection bias and estimate the causal impact of increased academic intensity on transfer
rates. Using student unit record data from Tennessee for the years 1995 through 2004,
I find that taking 12 or more credit hours increases the probability of transfer from between
11% and 15%.