| By Gale Staff |
Community colleges offer essential pathways for students of all backgrounds to achieve their educational goals, whether they hope to earn a certificate or their associate’s degree, or transfer to a four-year school.
Of all community college students, 80% intend to transfer to a university. According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, community college transfer students are more likely to graduate within four years at a university than other students. However, only a third of students who plan to transfer actually do—and only 16% of community college students go on to earn their bachelor’s degrees.1
The Rise in Community College Bachelor’s Degree Programs
To lower thresholds for students seeking four-year degrees, community colleges are expanding access to bachelor’s degree programs. Across the U.S., twenty-four states permit two-year colleges to confer bachelor’s degrees. Nearly all community college students in Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Nevada, and Washington can earn a bachelor’s degree at their institution, along with almost half of community college students in Arizona, Colorado, Ohio, and Wyoming.2
Data from the Community College Baccalaureate Association shows the number of community colleges offering bachelor’s degree programs is steadily rising—from 2021 to 2023, there was a 32% increase.3
As community colleges expand opportunities to earn a bachelor’s degree, they’re supporting equitable educational access and workforce development across the country. These programs are instrumental in making bachelor’s degrees more accessible, especially among underrepresented communities. Data shows that roughly half of all community college bachelor’s degree earners are students of color, with 24% identifying as Hispanic/Latino and 13% identifying as Black.4
However, twenty-six states still don’t permit community colleges to offer baccalaureate programs at all, making transfers the only pathway to a four-year degree from community colleges in the majority of the country.5
How Community Colleges Can Support Student Success
Regardless of whether students are participating in a community college bachelor’s degree program or plan to transfer to a four-year college to complete their degree, they need more support to reach their goals. Community colleges have an opportunity to help students excel in their courses, build twenty-first-century skills, and prepare for life after graduation.
One way to support student success is by providing access to a comprehensive online learning solution, like Gale Research Complete. With simple subscription access, Gale Research Complete helps community colleges enhance student learning, guide novice researchers, and foster skill development with a collection of accessible academic databases and resources.
Provide Diverse Resources for Students Across Disciplines
According to the American Association of Community Colleges, the leading programs for community college bachelor’s degree earners are in healthcare, education, business, and STEM. These disciplines support many of today’s top-growing industries, including nursing, teaching, and IT.6
Gale Research Complete offers authoritative digital content for users at all academic levels, covering nearly every research area and discipline. With one subscription, your college can offer access to business-focused resources, like Gale Business: Insights, as well as resources to support nursing and allied health students, like Gale Health and Wellness, and more.
Imagine giving students one login to discover award-winning eBooks, scholarly articles, reference materials, multimedia, and rare primary sources across subjects. With the cross-search experience, users can search across nearly every Gale Research Complete database simultaneously to easily find the content they need to support their research and learning.
By providing access to a vast array of high-quality, cross-disciplinary resources, you can help students excel in their four-year program, whether in your community college or after they transfer.
Bridge the Gap Between Community Colleges and Universities
Transfer students often face challenges in adapting to the academic expectations of four-year degree programs. Help reduce learning disparities between community college and university experiences by providing students with resources that promote academic rigor and success.
Gale Research Complete offers peer-reviewed and credible sources to help students enhance their knowledge and build essential research skills. Plus, you can ensure students and instructors have access to resources that align with the curricula and research needs of four-year degree programs.
Support seamless transitions for students from your community college to a university’s four-year program by providing access to cross-disciplinary scholarly content on a user-friendly platform.
Support College and Career Readiness
In community colleges, preparing students for successful futures includes considering both college and career readiness.
With Gale Research Complete, you can help students who intend to transfer to four-year schools build essential academic skills, like critical thinking and digital literacy. Students learn to navigate databases and source credible information, helping them become adept researchers. Plus, exposure to diverse primary sources helps students learn to critically evaluate information, discern bias, and understand historical context.
For students who plan to enter the workforce after leaving your community college, Gale Research Complete can also help them prepare to thrive in their industry. Guide students in career-focused pathways with industry-focused resources for health and wellness, business, automotive, education, and more.
Make Learning Equitable for Every Student
From affordability to location to flexibility, community colleges make education more accessible for every student. The same should be true of your community college’s resources. Ensure all students have opportunities to engage with scholarly content to support academic success.
Provide equitable learning experiences for every student, regardless of their background or previous educational experiences, with Gale Research Complete. Offer an accessible, user-friendly experience with readability features, like text-to-speech technology, as well as translations into fifty-plus languages.
The solution is also designed with your library’s budget in mind, allowing you to support learning and research across subjects with a simple subscription model.
As community colleges continue to add baccalaureate programs and students continue to transfer to four-year schools, take advantage of every opportunity to help students earn their degrees and find success in their futures.
If you’re interested in supporting all students at your college, learn more about our product offerings or request a free trial of Gale Research Complete from your sales rep.
Notes:
1. Velasco, Tatiana, “How to Boost Community-College Transfers,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 2024.
2, 3, 4, 5. Dembicki, Matthew, “Community college baccalaureate programs continue to grow,” Community College Daily, American Association of Community Colleges, May 2024. Dembicki.
6. Bragg, Debra D., “7 ways to scale up community college baccalaureates,” Community College Daily, American Association of Community Colleges, February 2024.