JANUARY 19, 2016, 6:02 PM LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016, 7:35 PM
BY PATRICIA ALEX
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
The pipeline from community college to a bachelor’s degree needs some work, according to a national report released Tuesday.
New Jersey is three percentage points above the national average, but only 17 percent of students who start at a community college in the state wind up getting a bachelor’s degree within six years, according to a report from the Community College Research Center at Columbia University.
Among students who started at community college and successfully transferred to a four-year college, only 42 percent completed a bachelor’s degree, compared with the 60 percent degree attainment rate of students who started at public four-year colleges, according to the report.
All but one of the state’s 19 community colleges were surveyed in the report that included data from 43 states, according to the center. The statistics were not broken down by college and only a statewide figure was provided.
Community colleges have been promoted as providers of an affordable first step toward a bachelor’s degree, but graduation rates remain low, particularly among low-income and minority students.
