Sixteen percent of students who started at two-year colleges received a degree from a four-year institution within six years — regardless whether they first earned an associate degree, according to a new report.
In 16 states the percentage was higher than the national average, says the National Student Clearinghouse Center study, and in four states — Iowa, Kansas, North Dakota and Virginia — one in five students who started at a public two-year college had a baccalaureate within six years.
The study also shows that many two-year college students finish elsewhere than at the college they started. One-third of students began at a public two-year college and completed at an institution other than the one where they first enrolled. In California, Idaho, Missouri, South Carolina and Texas, more than 40 percent of all completions for students in this sector happened at a college other than where they first enrolled.
The new report — which follows a cohort of students who started college in fall 2010 — examines six-year student success outcomes and college completion rates by state according to higher education institution type. It’s a supplement to a report the center released last year on college completion rates.
The new study was funded by Lumina Foundation.
