Penalty or Reward: Do Community College Transfer Experiences Impact Postbaccalaureate Salaries?

• In Event: 63.039 - Nuances in Pathways to Postcollege Labor Market Outcomes

Abstract

This quantitative study aimed at examining the impact of being a community college transfer student on annual salaries after graduation with a bachelor degree. We analyzed a nationally representative sample from the NCES Baccalaureate and Beyond (B&B) 08/12 data set. Propensity Score Matching was applied to match community college transfers with those who started at a four-year college/university. After matching, the impact of being a community college transfer student was estimated through regression analyses. Results showed that community college transfers earned significantly more than four-year attendees one year after graduation. No significant influences were detected four years after graduation. Implications of policy and future research are discussed.

Authors

• Yu Chen, Louisiana State University

• Ran Li, Iowa State University

• Linda Serra Hagedorn, Iowa State University