More adults, low-income students enroll when community colleges offer bachelor’s degrees, study suggests — from highereddive.com by Natalie Schwartz
Dive Brief:
- Community colleges that begin offering bachelor’s degrees see enrollment increases, including among low-income students and those who are age 25 and older, according to new research published in Community College Review, a peer-reviewed journal.
- However, the research is inconclusive on whether community college baccalaureate degrees increase enrollment of students of underrepresented races, which include those who are African American, Hispanic, Native American and multiracial.
- Opponents of community colleges offering bachelor’s degrees often argue that these programs cause institutions to drift away from their missions of serving underrepresented students. But the new research suggests that the programs actually reinforce community colleges’ commitments to certain disadvantaged student populations.