Bachelor’s completion rate six years after community college entry

Research shows that the majority of “good jobs” in the United States require a bachelor’s degree. 15 While there is programmatic variation, bachelor’s degree holders, on average, earn 75 percent more over their lifetime than those with a high school diploma and have median annual earnings of approximately $70,000 (higher for those who earn advanced degrees). 16 Accordingly, community colleges should assess the extent to which their programs and advising systems result in students attaining a bachelor’s degree. People of color and lower-income populations are less likely than other students to hold a bachelor’s, more likely to enter higher education in a community college, and less likely to transfer and attain a bachelor’s degree. Disaggregating rates and numbers of students who attain bachelor’s degrees can provide a window into whether the community college is effectively advancing bachelor’s attainment among those populations.