It is not a coincidence that increasing completion rates while preserving access is the first recommendation of the American Association of Community Colleges’ 21st Century Commission on the Future of Community Colleges. Student success is contingent on students having the opportunity to attend a postsecondary institution in the first place. Recent positive trends in increased high school graduation and college entry rates mask the unevenness of college access. Not everyone who wants to pursue a college education actually goes to college. Some can’t contemplate the possibility going to college and others don’t think college is for them. For those in college, there are gaps in success.
According to recent report from the Center on American Progress, students from the lowest socioeconomic (SES) quintiles are much less likely to enroll in college, 56 percent compared to 91 percent of their highest socioeconomic quintile counterparts. The report was based its findings of an analysis of the U.S. Department of Education’s, High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HLS), survey of more than 23,000 students who were in the ninth grade in 2009.
And unfortunately, high academic achievement of low SES students does not even out the playing field. Of 2009 ninth-graders, the least-affluent students with good grades (3.5 GPA or higher) and high scores on an assessment of math skills enroll in college at about the same rate as the most-affluent students with so-so academic accomplishments (2 to 2.99 GPA), 89 and 88 percent, respectively, the report says.
Differences in college and credential choices
Students in the highest SES quintile are twice as likely as those in the lowest SES quintile to enroll in a four-year institution, 78 percent compared to 36 percent. In contrast, half of the students in the lowest SES enrolled in a public two-year college as opposed to only 20 percent of their highest SES counterparts. The most dramatic difference is in the percent of students who enrolled in for-profit institutions, 11 times higher for the lowest SES quintile students than those in the highest SES quintile, 11 percent versus 1 percent.
Given the choice of colleges it is not surprising to find that students in the highest SES quintile are much more likely to pursue a bachelor’s degree than those in the lowest SES quintile, 53 percent compared to 32 percent. The percentage of student in the lowest SES quintile seeking an associate degree or certificate is 20 points higher (58 Percent) than those in the highest SES quintile (38 percent)
There are also considerable differences in college enrollment based on race and ethnicity. White students, regardless of SES, are more than twice as likely to enroll in a highly selective college. Almost one in five white students (19 percent) enroll in a highly selective college, compared to 7 percent of African-Americans and 9 percent Hispanics/Latinos. Interestingly, when focusing on students in the highest SES quintile, the gap between white students and Hispanic students narrows substantially (36 and 33 percent, respectively). However, with respect to African American and white students in the highest SES quintile the gap remains, 18 percent versus 36 percent.
The findings for completion are no less troubling. Low-income students and those of color are at greater risk of not completing their programs across all higher education institutions. To address these findings, the report touts making college more affordable by “proving students a path to a debt-free degrees and by ensuring that colleges put a greater focus on supporting low-income students; students of color; and other students.” Community colleges, which have a disproportionate share of these groups of students offer the lowest cost education, with only a small portion taking out student loans.
