The Review of Higher Education

This study analyzes the High School and Beyond (HS&B) and National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS) data to determine whether a "middle-class takeover" of the community college transfer function occurred between the late 1980s and early 1990s. The findings demonstrate that the middle-class share of transfer enrollments and graduates at both selective and less selective four-year institutions did not increase, except for an increase in the share of lower-middle-SES students among transfer graduates of less selective institutions. On the contrary, our point estimates, though not statistically significant, suggest that the share of students from the highest-SES quintile increased among transfers to selective institutions.

This study calculates and explores the total costs of a community college education prior to transfer to a four-year college. Included are all courses both at and below the college level by 411 students who attended one of the nine community colleges in the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) and who successfully transferred to a four-year institution. The main finding is that students with deep developmental needs averaged five years at the community college before transferring, and transferred only one year's worth of college-level courses. Of concern is the great number of African American and Latino students in remedial courses.

This ASHE address describes the demands for increased productivity being placed on public higher education from governors, legislators, the business community, and other stakeholders. The author posits that this attack on higher education is an attack on how members of the academy define and judge quality, and that those who study higher education have a particular obligation to conduct research relevant to the policy arena that is shaping the future of higher education and that may well redefine quality. Recommendations are included for how faculty who study higher education and ASHE as a professional association might address the challenge.