Study: Majority of community college students in Arizona don’t move onto 4-year university

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — Arizona is below average in community college students transferring to a university or 4-year institution, according to a new study from Columbia University. This is further exacerbated when even fewer graduate from a university with a bachelor’s degree compared to the national average.

In what the university’s Community College Research Center calls the first state-by-state analysis on the subject, overall, “only about a third of students starting in community colleges transfer to four-year schools, and only 16% earn a bachelor’s degree within six years.”

The study tracked students from 2015 through 2021, analyzing how many first started community college, transferred to a 4-year institution, stayed enrolled at a university within their first year and completed a bachelor’s degree. The national sample size is 670,794 students.

The study also compares how transfer rates have improved or worsened since 2007, the start of the global financial crisis, which led to an increase in community college enrollment.

In Arizona, the transfer rate to a 4-year institution is about 29%, while the national average is 33%. Compared to other western states, we are 7th behind Hawaii (29%, edging out in the decimals), California (32%), Montana (33%), Colorado (33%) and Wyoming (35%). Utah and Alaska were not listed for this specific area of the report, likely due to insufficient data.

Of Arizona transfer students, the rate of those who graduate with a bachelor’s degree within six years of enrolling in community college is about 55%, third behind Hawaii (58%) and California (77%).

Other notable highlights from the report:

• Overall, the transfer rates are low, but they’re even lower on average for low-income, older, male, Black and Hispanic students;
• Despite low transfer rates, community college transfers are a major source of enrollment at 4-year institutions;
• Most of the transfer students leave their community college without a 2-year degree before they transfer;
• And that private for-profit, largely online institutions fail most of their transfer students, with 23-25% of them completing a bachelor’s degree within four years, while those enrolling at non-profit 4-year colleges and universities graduate at a rate of 44%.

The study also found that, overall, transfer rates have improved since 2007.

You can compare how Arizona fares compared to other states below.

The study also has recommendations to improve the numbers. If you want to read the study and learn more, you can go to the report’s website here.

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