Key Findings

This study revealed three key findings on the makeup of and outcomes for Florida’s community college baccalaureate graduates.

1. CCB graduates are considerably older than both associate graduates and state university bachelor’s graduates. Fifty-eight percent of FCS bachelor’s graduates were 30 or over, compared to 45 percent of associate degrees in the same fields of study. Nursing graduates were considerably older than other bachelor’s graduates, but even when nurses are removed from this analysis, nearly half of CCB graduates from 2016–18 were 30 or older. For comparison, average upper-division students at Florida state universities were only 22.¹
2. Florida CCB graduates’ racial and ethnic composition is similar to the Florida population for some but not all groups. The share of Black, white, and Asian-American/Pacific Islander baccalaureate graduates fell within one percentage point of each group’s share of Florida residents. Latinx people, however, are still underrepresented among CCB graduates in this sample (20 percent) compared to the Florida population (26 percent).²
3. CCB graduates earn more than associate graduates in similar fields. Four quarters after graduation, baccalaureate graduates enjoyed approximately $10,000 more in annual wages than peers who earned an associate degree. This wage premium associated with earning a bachelor’s degree varied by area of study, race/ethnicity, and gender.
4. The bachelor’s degree wage premium is higher for men than it is for women, across nearly all areas of study covered in this report. Whether a generally low- or high-wage field, the difference in pay between bachelor’s graduates and associate graduates in the same area of study, which I refer to as the bachelor’s degree wage premium, was greater for men than women. Women with associate degrees earned less than men with the same credential in four of five areas of study with sufficient data for analysis. Gender pay gaps were greater at the bachelor’s level than the associate level.