California Community Colleges: Transferring Latina/os to Higher Education
Community colleges, as open access institutions, have acted as the primary gateway to higher education for Latina/o students. Historically, the primary mission of a community college was to transfer students and prepare them for the academic demands of four-year institutions. However, in recent years, community colleges have become comprehensive institutions in order to meet the needs of surrounding communities. In some cases, deviating from the transfer function and "cooling out" students who originally planned to transfer. Based on the concentration of Latina/os in the California Community College (CCC) system, the examination of this system's transfer mission is imperative. In order to assess the current transfer mission of CCCs, this study explored transfer students' perception of CCC's transfer function by using qualitative analysis. Three women and three men, who had successfully transferred from a CCC, participated in semi-structured interviews. The interviews consisted of questions regarding the students transfer process and their experiences as transfer students at four-year institutions. Data gathered in the interviews supported literature on community college students' struggles in pursuing a higher education. Results will provide directives for community college administrators and policy makers to improve the transfer function of CCCs and consequently increase the number of bachelor's degrees earned by Latina/o students.
School:
University of California at Irvine
Department:
Psychology
Research Advisor:
James D. Anderson
Department of Research Advisor:
Educational Policy Studies
Year of Publication:
2008