Community College Career and Technical Education Transfer Pathways as Sources of Inequity

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 13
  In Roundtable Session: Examining the Possibiliites of Community Colleges

Abstract

Using data from all 113 community colleges in California, this quantitative study investigated how Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathways predict transfer readiness and time to transfer readiness. It also identified how student race/ethnicity was related to disparities in transfer readiness based on under-enrollment in pathways positively related to transfer readiness and over-enrollment in pathways negatively related to transfer readiness. Transfer pathways, including through the CTE route, are becoming increasingly popular. This study raises questions about the inefficacy of some pathways and about institutional responsibility to enroll underrepresented students in pathways leading to timely transfer. It raises questions about the ways success outcomes are measured, demonstrating that inequities in outcomes can have roots early in the community college experience.

Authors

• Renah Wolzinger, Saddleback College

• Carol Lundberg, California State University - Fullerton