The Benefits of Attending Community College: A Review of the Evidence

Abstract

This article reviews the existing literature on the economic and other benefits of attending community college. First, the article reports on the earnings gains across all students and reviews the evidence for subgroups by gender, minority status, and credits accumulated. The article then reviews the methodological challenges associated with calculating earnings gains from attending a community college. Despite these challenges, the evidence for the significant earnings gains from community college attendance appears to be compelling. The second part of the article reviews the literature on a broader spectrum of gains, such as health, crime, and welfare reliance. This literature is very limited and potentially offers an important area for further research to establish the full returns from community college attendance.

The Labor-Market Returns to Community College Degrees, Diplomas, and Certificates

“…Card (1999) summarizes the vast literature on the labor-market returns to schooling, with discussions of several of the econometric techniques used to control for potential endogeneity. Belfield and Bailey (2011) summarize the literature on returns to community colleges. Straightforward, single-equation estimates of the labor-market returns to schooling find that an additional year of schooling raises yearly earnings between five and 4 ten percent.…”

A Skills beyond School Review of the United States

“…estimate that on average, certificate holders earn 20% more than high school graduates without any postsecondary education. A number of other studies confirm this (Belfield and Bailey, 2011;Bailey, Kienzl, and Marcotte, 2004) but one earlier study reported no effect (Kane and Rouse, 1995).…”

“…Two reviews found consistent average earnings returns to an associate's degree of 13-18% for males and 22-23% for females (Belfield and Bailey, 2011;Grubb, 2002). While some studies found career-focused associate's degrees to have higher economic returns than academic associate degrees (Bailey, Kienzl, and Marcotte, 2004;Grubb, 1995), others did not (Kane and Rouse, 1995;Marcotte, 2010).…”

Food Security and outlook on Life of Undergraduates and Postgraduates in University of Uyo

“…Admission has increased among groups historically underrepresented in higher education, including women, minorities, and those from low-income and poor families [33]. This is partly due to the numerous benefits accrued to those with postsecondary credentials such as higher wages [34]. Despite this increase in admission however, there still exist graduation gaps which is brought about majorly by difference in family income which goes a long way to determine the monthly allowance given to their children [35].…”