Leveraging rich data on the universe of Texas high school graduates, we estimate how the relationship between geographic access to public two- and four-year postsecondary institutions and postsecondary outcomes varies across race-ethnicity and socioeconomic status. We find that students are sensitive to the distance they must travel to access…

Forty percent of all Texas public college students start at a community college and 75 percent earn at least some community college credits. Yet there is very little evidence about how students make transfer decisions and whether the policies meant to avoid credit loss, like the core curriculum, actually improve transfer success and degree…

The concern for increasing future student enrollment in a central Texas community college was examined to determine specific strategies to proactively address this problem of professional practice during the ongoing 2020-2021 COVID-19 pandemic and pandemic recurrence. The purpose of this research study was to consider the factors, as identified by…

The advent of for-profit colleges to the higher education scene in the U.S. has challenged public community colleges on all levels; financial, academic, and consumerism. Research has shown that key performance indicators are more favorable at public community colleges than at for-profit colleges. Determining size and type of colleges, ethnicity…

As more students begin their higher education trajectory in community colleges in the US, there are few studies investigating the choice process for community college transfer students. This study draws on models of college choice to examine community college student transfer decisions. Using longitudinal administrative data, we examine…

Background/Context: Community colleges are drawing renewed attention from policy makers and advocates seeking to increase college attendance and completion. Nearly half of all students awarded a bachelor's degree attended a community college. However, we know little about how community college students decide where and how to pursue postsecondary…

Janet Marling is the Executive Director of the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students (NISTS), which is housed at the University of North Georgia. NISTS was established in 2002 at the University of North Texas and later moved to its present location in 2012. During this time, NISTS has grown into one of the largest national…

Families play a key role in students' school choices throughout their education. While research has explored the familial supports for high-school students transitioning to college for the first time, few scholars have examined how family engagement influences the decisions of current community-college students seeking to transfer to four-year…

Community colleges have received renewed attention from policymakers seeking to increase college attendance and completion rates because they provide open access to postsecondary education for historically marginalized students. Yet, transfer rates from community colleges to 4-year institutions are low. Inequities in opportunity that are shaped by…

At a time of sustained unemployment and sluggish job growth, students and policymakers are increasingly asking tough questions about postsecondary education and training outcomes. Do graduates find jobs? What are they paid? What will they earn in the future? Despite growing national interest in this information, good answers are not widely…

This study examined reasons for student choice of a specific community college. The site of the study is a west Texas public, two-year institution with 4,674 students, full- and part-time, as of fall 2008. The top six reasons for selection were transferability of courses, available academic programs and quality, campus location, cost, available…

This study explored the relationship between Hispanic students' enrollment in community colleges and their geographic location. As the majority of Hispanics in the United States is concentrated in four states (New York, Texas, Florida, and California), this study looked into the effect of residence in one of these four states on community college…

This publication welcomes potential students and their parents to the American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC's) Fall 2008 college fairs to learn about U.S. community colleges and study opportunities in the United States. U.S. location of participating colleges at Asia 2008 Fairs (map), overview of programs/majors offered at each college…

In 2006, TG (Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation) issued a report entitled "Ready, Willing and Unable: How Financial Barriers Obstruct Bachelor Degree Attainment in Texas." Drawing on a report by the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, which projected the number of bachelor degrees lost nationally due to financial…