Tracking Transfer: Community College Effectiveness in Broadening Bachelor’s Degree Attainment

This report provides an analysis of whether transfer pathways from community colleges to four-year institutions are effective for all students. It examines overall transfer rates and bachelor’s completion rates for the 2015 cohort of community college students and explores disparities in outcomes for low-income, Black, Hispanic, and older students compared to national averages. The report also includes a state-by-state analysis of these outcomes. Additionally, a companion report, "Tracking Transfer: Four-Year Institutional Effectiveness in Broadening Bachelor’s Degree Attainment," offers disaggregated data on enrollment, retention, and bachelor’s completion outcomes for transfer students in the 2015 four-year entering cohort. 

This report was revised in August 2025 to correct an error in the source dataset in which the sample of community college entrants with prior dual enrollment experience mistakenly included other students who were not first-time entrants at the college. Corrections concerning first-time students with prior dual enrollment experience have been made to have been made to Figure 1, Figures 16–19, and Table 1, along with related text on pp. 3, 7, 38, 39, 42, and 45. The report’s main findings and their implications remain unchanged.