Less than half of community college students finish

Less than half of students who began pursuing a two-year degree in 2008 had finished within four years, according to new data released today by the National Center for Education Statistics. Of students at two-year colleges, 38 percent had graduated within four years, compared to 34 percent within three years. Students pursuing certificates or other credentials that take less than two years to earn had much better outcomes when a longer time window was used for measurement: 69 percent had finished within double the program length, compared to 46 percent who finished in the typical amount of time.
For-profit colleges had the highest graduation rate for two-year programs: 43 percent of students finished within two years, and 65 percent within four years. Community colleges had the lowest, with a 21 percent two-year graduation rate and a 38 percent four-year graduation rate. Many community colleges object to the federal methodology of measuring graduation rates because it does not count transfer students or students who are returning to college after dropping out.

The annual survey for the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System also found that 18.2 million undergraduates were enrolled at colleges in fall 2012, with a slight majority at four-year colleges.