Can Community Colleges Afford to Improve Completion? Measuring the Cost and Efficiency Consequences of Reform

Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis

Volumn 36, Issue 3, 2014, Pages 327-345

  Belfield, Clive ^a   Crosta, Peter ^b   Jenkins, Davis ^b  

^a CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK   (United States)

^b Och Spine at New York Presbyterian Hospitals   (United States)

Author keywords

community colleges; costs; efficiency

Indexed keywords

EID: 84908566767     PISSN: 01623737     EISSN: 19351062     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.3102/0162373713517293     Document Type: Article

References (31)

1. Archibald R. B.,Feldman D. H.Explaining increases in higher education costs.Journal of Higher Education. 2008;79:268-295
2. Bailey T..Paper presented at the American Enterprise Institute; 2011Washington, DC; 2011.
3. Bailey T.,Belfield C. R.Preparing today’s students for tomorrow’s jobs in metropolitan America. Perna L., ed. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press; 2012:121-145.
4. Bound J.,Lovenheim M. F.,Turner S.Why have college completion rates declined? An analysis of changing student preparation and collegiate resources.American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. 2010;2:129-157
5. Bowen H. R.The costs of higher education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass; 1980:
6. Cho S. W.,Ran X.Lingerers in the community college. New York, NY: Teachers College, Community College Research Center, Columbia University; 2013:
7. Crosta P. M.Intensity and attachment: How the chaotic enrollment patterns of community college students affect educational outcomes. New York, NY: Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University; 2013:
8. Deil-Amen R.,Rosenbaum J. E.The social prerequisites of success: Can college structure reduce the need for social know-how?.The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 2003;586:120-143
9. Harris D.,Goldrick-Rab S.The (Un)productivity of American higher education. Madison: University of Wisconsin–Madison; 2010:
10. HornL.LiX.WekoT. (2009). Changes in postsecondary awards below the bachelor’s degree 1997 to 2007. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2010/2010167.pdf
11. Jenkins D.Redesigning community colleges for completion: Lessons from research on high-performance organizations. New York, NY: Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University; 2011:
12. JenkinsD.ChoS.-W. (2013). Get with the program.. and finish it: Building guided pathways to accelerate student learning and success. In PhillipsB.HorowitzJ. (Eds.), New directions for community colleges (Volume on the college completion agenda, Vol. 2013, Issue 164). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Retrieved from http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/publications/get-with-the-program.html
13. Jenkins D.,Rodriguez O.Access and success with less: Improving productivity in broad-access postsecondary institutions.Future of Children. 2013;23:187-209
14. Johnson N.What does a college degree cost? Comparing approaches to measuring “cost per degree”. Washington, DC: Delta Cost Project; 2009:
15. Kempkes G.,Pohl C.The efficiency of German universities—Some evidence from nonparametric and parametric methods.Applied Economics. 2010;41:2063-2079
16. Laband D. N.,Lentz B. F.Do costs differ between for-profit and not-for-profit producers of higher education?.Research in Higher Education. 2004;45:429-441
17. Levin H. M.Raising productivity in higher education.Journal of Higher Education. 1991;62:241-262
18. Massy W. F.Metrics for efficiency and effectiveness in higher education. Washington, DC: National Governors Association, The Miller Center on Public Affairs; 2011:
19. National Research Council. (2012). Improving measurement of productivity in higher education. In SullivanT. A.MackieC.MassyW. F.SinhaE. (Eds.), Committee on National Statistics and Board on Testing and Assessment, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Retrieved from http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13417
20. National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. (2012). Transfer and mobility: A national view of pre-degree student movement in postsecondary institutions. Retrieved from www.studentclearinghouse.org/signature
21. Powell B. A.,Suitt Gilleland D.,Pearson L. C.Expenditures, efficiency, and effectiveness in U.S. undergraduate higher education: A national benchmark model.Journal of Higher Education. 2012;83:102-127
22. Romano R. M.,Losinger R.,Millard T.Measuring the cost of a college degree: A case study of a SUNY community college. Ithaca, NY: Industrial and Labor Relations School, Cornell University; 2010:
23. Stange K.Ability sorting and the importance of college quality to student achievement: Evidence from community colleges. Ann Arbor: Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan; 2010:
24. Syverson C.What determines productivity?.Journal of Economic Literature. 2011;49:326-365
25. Tinto V.Completing college: Rethinking institutional action. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press; 2012:
26. Toutkoushian R. K.The value of cost functions for policymaking and institutional research.Research in Higher Education. 1999;40:1-15
27. Trostel P.The fiscal impacts of college attainment.Research in Higher Education. 2010;51:220-247
28. Webber D. A.,Ehrenberg R. G.Do expenditures other than instructional expenditures affect graduation and persistence rates in American higher education?.Economics of Education Review. 2010;29:947-958
29. The White House, Office of the Press Secretary. (2012). Fact Sheet: President Obama’s blueprint for keeping college affordable and within reach for all Americans [Press release]. Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/01/27/fact-sheet-president-obama-s-blueprint-keeping-college-affordable-and-wi
30. Winston G. C.Subsidies, hierarchy and peers: The awkward economics of higher education.Journal of Economic Perspectives. 1999;13:13-36
31. Zhang L.Does state funding affect graduation rates at public four-year colleges and universities?.Educational Policy. 2009;23:714-731