Transfer and Completion
Program Progress After Five Years: Achieving the Dream
What Is Measured?
Percentage of late stopout students who eventually transferred or re-enrolled within five years
Who Is Counted?
Late stopout students in Achieving the Dream community colleges who first enrolled in fall 2002 or fall 2003
What It Tells Us
Within five years, 7 percent of Achieving the Dream community college late stopout students had transferred, and more than twice as many (16 percent) re-enrolled. Re-enrollment rates were higher than transfer rates for all groups examined and were relatively similar across groups. Students age 20 or younger transferred at twice the rate of students age 30 or older (8 percent vs. 4 percent). Asian American students had the highest transfer rate of all racial/ethnic groups examined (10 percent).
Why It's Important
This measure represents those community college students who left before completing a certificate or degree or transferring to a four-year college but nonetheless made significant academic progress while enrolled. The Achieving the Dream initiative recognizes those students who had accumulated at least 30 credits within their first two years of enrollment but who stopped out without completing a credential or transferring. Some of these students may have achieved their educational goals (such as acquiring specific job skills), while others would be well on their way toward completion or transfer should they return to community college.
About the Data
Late stopout students: include students who had accumulated at least 30 credits within their first two years of enrollment but who stopped out without completing a credential or transferring.Data Source
Achieving the Dream. (2009, September/October). Late stop-outs. Data Notes, 4(5).
Achieving the Dream. (2009, November/December). Late stop-outs. Data Notes, 4(6).