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SIX-STATE FOCUS

To examine the impact of state policy structure on 2/4 transfer, I selected six states that rely heavily on transfer as a point of access to the baccalaureate degree for low-income students. The criteria for selection included the states’ grades on completion in Measuring Up 2000 (National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, 2000), combined with the proportion of total postsecondary enrollments in community colleges and the percentage of school-age children in poverty.* Three of these states—Florida, New York, and North Carolina—were among the better-performing states on the completion measure used in Measuring Up 2000; three others—Arkansas, New Mexico, and Texas—were among the poorest-performing states (see table 3). Arizona and California were not selected, despite sizable community college sectors, because they both obtained midrange completion scores in Measuring Up.

As one measure of 2/4 transfer effectiveness, this six-state survey compared Integrated Postsecondary Education System (IPEDS) data for first-time freshmen enrollments in degree-producing institutions in fall 1991 with baccalaureate degree recipients in 1996– 97 (see table 4). While these cohorts are not identical, the comparisons show how the states differ in the relative diversity of enrollments and in degree attainment by racial and ethnic groups, with much higher populations of Hispanic students in Florida, New Mexico, New York, and Texas than in Arkansas and North Carolina. More importantly, there are disturbing and consistent patterns indicating that white students persist to the baccalaureate degree at higher rates than either African-American or Hispanic students.

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© 2002 The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education
and the Institute for Higher Education Policy