Nontraditional Community College Transfer Students and Their Bachelor's Degree Attainment

• In Event: Academic Transitions Among College Students and Community Colleges

Abstract

Two-year community colleges have contributed to increasing the number of individuals with postsecondary credentials. Lower tuition at community colleges attracts low-income students to pursue bachelor’s degrees. Such students begin their postsecondary education at community colleges to save money first, then transfer to four-year institutions to earn their four-year degrees. Previous studies investigated community college transfer students and their bachelor’s degree attainment, while these studies failed to address nontraditional community college transfer students and their four-year degree attainment. Parried with the most recent national data, this study explored nontraditional transfer students and their bachelor’s degree attainment. Findings based on logistic regression, the current study discovered that the chance of attaining a bachelor’s degree was lowered when nontraditional transfer students had children.

Author

• Terry T. Ishitani, University of Tennessee
  Presenting Author