This study explored nontraditional community college transfer students and their bachelor's degree attainment. The study findings suggest that there was no significant difference in the odds of earning bachelor's degrees between nontraditional transfer students and their counterparts. Thus, the pathway to bachelor's degree attainment through…

Drawing on data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:04/09) and the Postsecondary Education Transcript Study (PETS), this study examined the risks associated with losing credits in the process of transferring between colleges. The effects of credit loss are considered on the timing of degree completion and student loan…

This research aims to explore the relationship between reverse transfer and degree attainment by addressing the following questions: (1) What are the predictors of reverse transfer? (2) Does reverse transfer affect degree attainment within six years of initial enrollment or college attendance and cumulative loan debt in the sixth year? and (3) Is…

Objectives/Research Question: This study aims to explore who transfers between 2-year colleges (lateral transfer students) and how these students fare in terms of degree attainment. More specifically, this research explores two research questions: (1) What are the predictors of lateral transfer? (2) Is lateral transfer associated with degree…

Evidence of inefficient course-taking patterns at community colleges has spurred policy conversations about how to ensure effective course sequences. Structural reforms, like guided pathways, seek to reduce major switching as a means to streamline student course taking and eliminate unnecessary credits. By placing students into broad fields of…

Objective: This study examined how a set of theoretically derived factors predicted the educational attainment outcomes of Latina/o community college students. The guiding research question was, "What precollege and background characteristics, college experiences, and environmental pull factors uniquely predict persistence, certificate or…

Because of increasing mobility among various college student populations, both the baccalaureate degree attainment of community college beginners and the role played by their receiving 4-year institution are growing in importance. In this study, we examined how the academic and social involvement of community college transfer students differs by…

For more than a century, community colleges have provided a postsecondary education alternative to the traditional, 4-year university. Enrolling disproportionate numbers of both disadvantaged and nontraditional students, the community college sector has seen unparalleled gains in enrollment over the past few decades. Along with these increases in…

Drawing upon the latest data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:04/09) and the Postsecondary Education Transcript Data (PETS:09), this study employed propensity score matching and postmatching logistic regression to estimate the extent to which postsecondary coenrollment affects persistence and attainment of students…

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have been studied consistently as a single institutional group. However, at least ostensibly, HBCUs are relatively heterogeneous. Consequently, we evaluated the homogeneity of three educational outcomes that have been recognized as potentially distinguishing features of HBCUs (i.e., STEM major,…

For many underrepresented minority students, the path to the baccalaureate degree begins with initial enrollment at a community college. Unfortunately, only a small percentage of students interested in transferring actually do transfer to a 4-year institution. Of these transfers, few graduate with a baccalaureate degree within 6 years of initial…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of academic variables (e.g., grade point average, major change, informal meetings with faculty) on six year persistence and attainment among black male students in community colleges. Data was collected from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study and was analyzed using…

Estimating the persistence of first-time students from the first year to the second year of college is a growing social and financial concern. Studying how socioeconomic status affects year-to-year persistence may help to identify and assist those students who have socioeconomic profiles most likely to indicate challenges to year-to-year…

The authors used the data from the "Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study" survey (BPS:04/06) to (a) examine the characteristics of the national sample of college students with disabilities and (b) identify the factors that influenced their first-to-second-year persistence in U.S. postsecondary institutions. Students with…

This volume examines conceptual frameworks and models that flow from scholars' definitions and operationalizations of social class: status attainment theory, human capital theory, the financial nexus model, Bourdieuian theory, and critical race theory. Since students often have multiple social locations that affect their educational process, the…