Monday, February 13, 2017

Does Equality of Opportunity Study Suggest Community College Should Be Free?

An op-ed in today's Sacramento Bee uses the Equality of Opportunity study to argue that the state should make community college and the first two years of CSU tuition free.  I am not sure how the op-ed author derives his conclusion from the analysis in the Equality of Opportunity study.

I had skimmed the study a few weeks ago and did not come to these conclusions.  I thought it raised serious questions about California's higher ed structure with an enormous community college system and strong incentives for students to start in community college.  California has had the cheapest (nearly free tuition) community college education in the U.S. for decades and its educational outcomes are backsliding, especially for those under 40 who were educated in the state.  California still does a great job of attracting highly educated workers to move here from other places.

Prompted by this op-ed, I just gave the study another read to see if I was missing something.  I found no recommendation about free community college or expanding community college.  In fact the study notes that many community colleges don't rank that well on mobility, despite being high-access institutions because their success rates are so low.  It does have positive things to say about outcomes for students who start in the CSU system.  I could see it as an argument for expanding CSU's so more students can start in a 4-year environment, and I also can see it as an argument for continuing to provide financial aid opportunities that allow lower-income students to access private, non-profit institutions.

I edited some of the tables from the Equality of Opportunity study below.  There are many more community colleges than CSUs, UCs, and private, non-profits in California - so it seems they should dominate these tables.

The first table focuses on the mobility rate, which combines low-income access with success in mobilizing low-income students into the top-tier of earners.  The table shows the top 10 colleges in California (excluding very small institutions) for mobility and the bottom 10.  There is 1 community college in the top 10, but community colleges are 7 out of the bottom 10 for mobility.

The second table looks only at the success rate of low-income students attending a given university, irregardless of the share of students at that institution that are low-income.  Thus, Stanford can top this list despite only having 3.6% of students with low-income parents - since 63% of those students are successful in getting to the top income quintile by their early 30's.

When it comes to success rate, there were no community colleges in the list until 42nd place.  The very bottom of the success rate list are for-profit career colleges, but community colleges make up the rest, 15 of the bottom 20 places.

Community colleges are important, and I know many people who have had good educational experiences with them, and have successfully used them to achieve their educational goals.  The policy question here is at the margin.  Should California be putting more resources and directing more students in their direction, or would there be a better return on investment in expanding the CSU system and low-income access to private non-profits with high success rates?

Mobility Rate Rankings

Institution Name Median Parent Hhold. Income ($) Median Child Indiv. Earnings Ages 32-34 ($) Low-Income Access: % of Parents in Bottom Quintile Success Rate: % of Children in Top Quintile Among Those with Parents in Bottom Quintile Mobility Rate: % of Children who Come From Bottom Quintile and Reach Top Quintile
Top 10 Mobility Rate(>= 300 students per cohort)
California State University, Los Angeles  36,600  43,000 33.1        29.9        9.9       
Glendale Community College  40,100  30,500 32.4        21.9        7.1       
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona  80,200  55,100 14.9        45.8        6.8       
University Of California, Irvine  92,100  60,400 12.2        55.3        6.8       
California State University, Northridge  61,100  44,100 19.8        32.0        6.3       
University Of California, Riverside  75,000  52,800 14.7        41.0        6.0       
California State University, Dominguez Hills  45,600  40,300 26.3        21.3        5.6       
University Of California, Los Angeles 105,500  65,800 10.2        54.6        5.6       
San Jose State University  91,700  56,500 11.7        46.6        5.4       
University Of California, Berkeley 114,700  67,900 8.8        55.2        4.9       
Bottom 10 Mobility Rate (>= 300 students per cohort)
College Of The Redwoods  59,900  20,300 18.8        7.5        1.4       
Point Loma Nazarene University 113,300  45,900 3.3        42.7        1.4       
Lake Tahoe Community College  64,600  22,100 14.2        9.8        1.4       
Mendocino College  51,900  21,400 21.0        6.0        1.3       
Sierra College  85,900  30,900 7.8        15.7        1.2       
California Lutheran University 110,600  50,900 3.2        38.2        1.2       
Saddleback College 100,600  31,100 7.0        16.5        1.2       
Solano Community College  84,300  34,300 7.9        13.7        1.1       
Las Positas College 109,500  37,300 4.9        16.5        0.8       
Marinello School Of Beauty, Xenon International Academy, International School Of Skin And Nailcare And Hair Professionals Academy  44,200  11,400 25.4        2.9        0.7       

Success Rate Rankings

Institution Name Median Parent Hhold. Income ($) Median Child Indiv. Earnings Ages 32-34 ($) Low-Income Access: % of Parents in Bottom Quintile Success Rate: % of Children in Top Quintile Among Those with Parents in Bottom Quintile Mobility Rate: % of Children who Come From Bottom Quintile and Reach Top Quintile
Top 42 Success Rate (schools >=300 students per cohort)
Stanford University 172,600  84,800 3.6        62.7        2.2       
Santa Clara University 149,900  72,500 3.6        62.0        2.2       
University Of California, Irvine  92,100  60,400 12.2        55.3        6.8       
University Of California, Berkeley 114,700  67,900 8.8        55.2        4.9       
University Of California, San Diego 111,300  65,300 8.8        55.1        4.8       
University Of California, Los Angeles 105,500  65,800 10.2        54.6        5.6       
University Of Southern California 120,100  63,700 7.2        54.6        3.9       
California Polytechnic State University 124,800  65,500 4.2        53.6        2.2       
Pomona College 161,600  62,000 3.7        53.0        2.0       
University Of California, Davis 109,400  61,600 8.6        51.8        4.4       
University Of The Pacific  96,500  59,000 8.6        49.7        4.3       
University Of California, Santa Barbara 124,000  58,800 6.2        49.5        3.1       
Scripps College 126,300  46,400 5.1        49.1        2.5       
University Of San Diego 139,300  61,200 4.9        46.8        2.3       
San Jose State University  91,700  56,500 11.7        46.6        5.4       
University Of San Francisco 106,900  56,900 5.9        46.2        2.7       
Loyola Marymount University 131,800  56,200 5.4        45.9        2.5       
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona  80,200  55,100 14.9        45.8        6.8       
California State University, East Bay  86,000  51,300 9.9        44.0        4.3       
Saint Mary's College Of California 110,500  55,200 6.7        43.7        2.9       
Pepperdine University 124,100  55,800 4.3        43.1        1.9       
Point Loma Nazarene University 113,300  45,900 3.3        42.7        1.4       
University Of California, Riverside  75,000  52,800 14.7        41.0        6.0       
San Diego State University 100,500  51,000 9.0        40.8        3.7       
California State University, Fullerton  83,300  47,800 12.1        39.6        4.8       
Occidental College 122,400  49,000 8.5        39.1        3.3       
California Lutheran University 110,600  50,900 3.2        38.2        1.2       
California State University, Long Beach  85,800  48,800 11.6        38.2        4.4       
University Of California, Santa Cruz 115,400  46,100 7.4        37.6        2.8       
San Francisco State University  87,200  45,800 10.1        34.7        3.5       
Sonoma State University 113,700  46,400 5.0        34.4        1.7       
California State University, Bakersfield  67,700  46,100 14.1        32.8        4.6       
University Of Redlands 108,400  47,700 5.3        32.3        1.7       
California State University, Monterey Bay  93,200  41,100 10.5        32.3        3.4       
California State University, Chico 112,200  48,700 6.1        32.2        2.0       
California State University, Northridge  61,100  44,100 19.8        32.0        6.3       
California State University - Sacramento  88,700  47,900 10.5        31.9        3.3       
Chapman University 109,600  47,900 5.3        31.9        1.7       
California State University, San Bernardino  69,800  43,500 14.1        31.2        4.4       
Azusa Pacific University 103,700  42,100 4.9        30.9        1.5       
California State University, Los Angeles  36,600  43,000 33.1        29.9        9.9       
Ohlone College  91,100  38,500 7.1        29.0        2.1       
Bottom 20 Success Rate (schools >= 300 students per cohort)
Victor Valley Community College  62,600  25,200 17.7        12.1        2.1       
Chaffey Community College  66,300  27,700 14.7        12.0        1.8       
Southwestern Community College District  54,200  28,200 20.2        11.8        2.4       
Antelope Valley College  66,600  25,700 16.4        11.8        1.9       
West Hills Community College District  46,100  25,600 22.5        11.7        2.6       
College Of The Sequoias  51,500  27,500 21.8        11.6        2.5       
Yuba Community College District  48,700  25,400 20.4        11.5        2.4       
Miracosta College  71,200  26,500 13.4        11.5        1.5       
College Of The Siskiyous  57,500  27,900 19.0        10.5        2.0       
Lake Tahoe Community College  64,600  22,100 14.2        9.8        1.4       
Merced Community College  48,400  25,400 24.0        9.5        2.3       
State Center Community College District  47,600  25,200 24.7        9.4        2.3       
San Joaquin Valley College  36,000  21,500 34.8        7.9        2.8       
College Of The Redwoods  59,900  20,300 18.8        7.5        1.4       
Carrington College California  47,900  25,000 24.5        7.0        1.7       
Westwood College - Los Angeles  37,800  26,400 26.9        6.7        1.8       
Mendocino College  51,900  21,400 21.0        6.0        1.3       
United Education Institute  29,600  19,100 42.4        5.3        2.2       
American Career College of Los Angeles, CA  30,400  25,700 41.5        4.8        2.0       
Marinello School Of Beauty, Xenon International Academy, International School Of Skin And Nailcare And Hair Professionals Academy  44,200  11,400 25.4        2.9        0.7       

2 comments:

  1. Seems like there is some substantial selection bias, no?

    The 3.6% of low income students attending Stanford are very different than the 18% who attend San Joaquin Delta, even if their incomes are similar. It's hardly surprising that they typically do better economically. They'd probably still do better economically even if their schools were switched.

    I'd suggest looking at the share of students moving from the bottom quintile to any of the top three quintiles would be a much more meaningful metric, in line with the goals and values of community colleges.

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    Replies
    1. Absolutely. I actually deleted some discussion of the importance in differing selectivity and student attributes other than parental income, because the post was getting long. Not every students goal is to make a lot of money in their 30's either, there are many measures of success.

      My main point is that one can't conclude community college should be free from the data and study referenced by the op-ed author.

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