Evidence on CCBs and Access to Bachelor’s Degree Programs

One of the big hopes for CCBs is that they will expand access to baccalaureate education to a more diverse population of students. Available research suggests that they do. Quantitative data make it clear that students who enroll in CCB programs are highly diverse. Many have attended college before, and some have completed an associate degree before starting their CCB program.¹ Students in CCB programs in Washington and Florida are older and more racially and ethnically diverse than their university counterparts.² CCBs in Washington show a higher percentage of Black and Latinx graduates and a lower percentage of Asian graduates compared to similar university programs.³

In other ways, CCB students are more diverse than community college transfer students and mirror students that are in community college workforce programs. For example, they are more likely to be veterans, receive financial assistance, and have dependents.⁴ In a previous analysis of student demographics in Florida and Washington, Elizabeth Meza and Ivy Love found Florida graduates to be 57 percent female (right on par with bachelor’s graduates nationally).⁵ Under half, approximately 42 percent, were people of color, and 47 percent were 30 or older. Students who enroll in Washington’s CCB programs are older than other community college students—32, on average, compared to 23 for the state’s community college students overall.⁶ Students in California pilot programs were less racially diverse than the overall community college population, with students slightly more likely to be white or Asian, but they were also more likely to be receiving financial aid than the general student population.⁷

We have found some variation based on program. In Washington, students in STEM programs are younger and more white and Asian than students in other programs, suggesting these programs are picking up more traditional students who are pursuing degrees that have competitive admissions requirements and limited space in local universities. This is the case, for example, in computer science.⁸

While CCB students, across multiple programs, tend to be older than the average community college student, little is known about the trajectories and experiences of young adults who use CCBs to further their education. More research is needed to understand programs that draw younger students and why young students might opt for a CCB pathway as opposed to attempting traditional transfer.

In terms of gender, females made up a similar percentage of university and CCB graduates in Washington. Historic gendered patterns in occupational fields like health care and education hold true among graduates in both community colleges and universities, though we found a strong representation of women in business that is promising, given their underrepresentation in the past.⁹

In interviews with 17 CCB students and graduates in Washington, students described being drawn to the CCB for a number of reasons, including affordability, already having a connection to the college and feeling comfortable there, convenience of location, and the opportunity to pursue a career pathway that would lead to an in-demand occupation.¹⁰ The number one reason students in California’s CCB pilot program gave for pursuing a CCB was affordability.¹¹ Many students we interviewed said that they did not think they would have pursued a bachelor’s degree if the community college option wasn’t available. This sentiment was echoed by the students in California’s pilot colleges where 51 percent of respondents agreed they would not have pursued a bachelor’s degree outside of the CCB option. In a follow-up study in California, 56 percent of students said they would not have pursued the bachelors outside of the community college.¹²

Given the relatively recent emergence of CCB degree programs in many states, more research is needed to describe who enrolls in CCB programs and to help ensure that they are meeting the needs of the populations they seek to serve. However, early evidence suggests that CCB degrees are opening bachelor’s degree options to a new group of students.

Examining whether CCB degrees increase baccalaureate access and equity, Marcela Cuellar and Patricia Gándara reviewed literature citing the intention of CCB degrees to expand access to bachelor’s degrees among first-generation, low-income, and racially minoritized students.¹³ Their qualitative study involved community college leaders in six colleges in three CCB-conferring states. Cuellar and Gandara wrote that CCB degrees do strive to improve access for low-income students, but they found less convincing evidence that they focus on increasing baccalaureate attainment for racially minoritized students. They concluded that CCB degrees are a potentially valuable policy tool to advance socioeconomic mobility for low-income students, but lack clear equity plans and specific efforts to increase access to baccalaureates among racially minoritized students. Given claims that CCB degree advocates make, Cuellar and Gandara recommended strengthening outreach and support from community colleges conferring these degrees, a recommendation echoed by Edna Martinez, who identifies an equity “missed opportunity” when equity and pedagogy are not centered within the degrees, and instead are focused solely on access to solve equity concerns.¹⁴

In their study of the CCB in California, Hai Hoang, Davis Vo, and Cecilia Rios-Aguilar conclude that “CCBs have provided an affordable, accessible pathway to baccalaureate attainment for older students, first- generation college students, students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, students experiencing homelessness, students with disability, students impacted by the foster care system, student veterans, and students of color.”¹⁵ They also point out that demand for CCB degree programs remained high, even through the pandemic, and it rose, despite declining community college enrollment overall, an observation echoed by Wright-Kim. This suggests that students see the value of the bachelor’s degree and they value the access and flexibility provided at community colleges.¹⁶