Most California community college students don't make it to a university
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
The vast majority of California community college students aiming to transfer to a four-year university don't make it there, a recent state audit reveals.
Why it matters: While bachelor's degrees aren't required for many jobs, those graduates are more likely to get jobs, earn higher salaries, and build wealth.
Stunning stat: "Only about 1 in 5 students who began community college from 2017 to 2019 and intended to transfer did so within four years," the audit found.
- The rates were even lower in more rural parts of the state and for Black and Hispanic or Latino students.
- Community colleges in the San Diego region had higher-than-average transfer rates, hovering around 22%.
Between the lines: Community colleges are designed to make four-year degrees more accessible, attainable and less expensive, particularly for low-income, first-generation students of color. But barriers in the state's higher education systems, like Cal State and UC, make the transfer process difficult, the audit found.
- Prospective students struggle to navigate varying course, credit and transfer requirements for different degrees and campuses.
- Some eligible transfer students also get rejected, in part because there is limited capacity at some campuses and in STEM majors.
- However, state law requires CSU and UC to reserve space for transfer students.
The big picture: Most transfer applicants who apply to CSU and UC schools are admitted to at least one campus, but it's not necessarily the one they want to attend.
- The systems refer or redirect thousands of them, but only a small number enroll.
By the numbers: The audit found CSU and UC enroll at least one‑third of their new students through transfer, but it differs by campus.
- 48% of all incoming San Diego State University students are transfers, compared with 53% systemwide.
- It's 46% at Cal State San Marcos, and its 35% at UCSD, which is a top-three UC school.
- Caveat: This data includes all transfer students, but the vast majority come from California community colleges.
Context: California community colleges must admit any high school graduate, and the 115 campuses across the state serve more students than CSU and UC combined.
- There are eight community colleges in San Diego County.
What we're watching: The community college system is standardizing how it labels courses, and next fall will offer a new set of common prerequisites that both the UC and Cal State systems have agreed to accept, CalMatters reported.
What's next: The audit recommended the systems share more data, provide more counseling, and expand the Associate Degree for Transfer program to streamline the transfer process.