@article {576146,
	title = {Do Community Colleges Provide a Viable Pathway to a Baccalaureate Degree?},
	journal = {Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis},
	volume = {31},
	year = {2009},
	pages = {30-53},
	abstract = {Community colleges have become an important entryway for students intending to complete baccalaureate degrees. However, many question the viability of the transfer function and wonder whether students suffer a penalty for starting at 2-year institutions. The authors examined how the outcomes of community college entrants compared with those of similar students who initially entered 4-year institutions within the Ohio public higher education system. Using a detailed data set, the authors tracked outcomes for 9 years and used multiple strategies to deal with selection issues: propensity score matching and instrumental variables. The results suggest that straightforward estimates are significantly biased, but even after accounting for selection, students who initially began at community colleges were 14.5\% less likely to complete bachelor{\textquoteright}s degrees within 9 years. (Contains 22 notes, 9 tables, and 1 figure.)},
	keywords = {Academic Persistence, College Transfer Students, Community Colleges, Comparative Analysis, Outcomes Of Education, Predictor Variables, School Holding Power, Two Year College Students},
	isbn = {0162-3737},
	author = {Bridget Terry Long and Kurlaender, Michal}
}
