Credit Returns for Public Two-Year College Entrants: Examining Patterns for Degree Recipients and Non-Completers

• In Event: 3429 - Section on Sociology of Education Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 8. Educational Attainment and Outcomes

Abstract

Two-year colleges, also known as community and technical colleges, offer an entry point to postsecondary education for many Americans who might otherwise forgo college. While public two-year colleges “democratize” access to higher education, they also face intense criticism due to low rates of degree attainment. A growing body of research examines the returns to college credits among two-year college entrants, but often obscures the differences in returns across completers and non-completers. This study examines the returns to various types of college credits for two-year college entrants, exploring variation in returns across academic, technical, and developmental credits for degree earners and non-completers. In a series of individual fixed effects models, we isolate various subpopulations of two-year college entrants to understand which college credits yield the greatest returns, with a specific interest in returns among non-completers, who comprise the largest block of two-year college entrants.

Authors

• Lauren Schudde, The University of Texas at Austin

• Meghan Shea, University of Texas at Austin