Community college bachelor’s programs may play a major role in closing the higher education gap for Latino students, according to a report UCLA published Tuesday.
Since 2014, only a handful of California’s community colleges have been approved to offer two-year bachelor’s degree programs. For Latinos who were able to complete the program, the degree can be life-changing in terms of educational attainment and financial stability, according to the new UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Institute study.
The UCLA institute examined data from students enrolled in the first five cohorts, or groups, of California’s inaugural community college baccalaureate, or CCB, programs and surveyed graduates to study certain postgraduate outcomes.
About 64% of all Latino students who enrolled in CCB programs graduated within two years of enrollment — similar to the 68% of non-Latino students who graduated. The report also found fewer Latino CCB graduates had to take out student loans to fund their educations, 35%, compared to 46% of all California college graduates.
The community college bachelor’s degrees also led to higher financial outcomes. Latino CCB graduates reported earning over $22,600 more per year on average than they did before the program. They also boasted higher rates of employment compared to non-Latino CCB graduates.
In California, 22% of Hispanic adults (25 and older) had earned associate degrees or higher, compared to 56% of white non-Hispanic adults, according to Excelencia in Education, an organization that analyzes strategies to boost Latino college completion.
The CCB programs also address industry and labor needs: Some are in the fields of dental hygiene, respiratory care, automotive technology and biomanufacturing.
‘Life-changing’
The report’s first author, Cecilia Rios-Aguilar, a faculty member at the UCLA School of Education & Information Studies, said in an interview that CCB programs are particularly helpful because of their accessibility in terms of…
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