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California’s higher education system depends heavily on community colleges. California enrolls a much larger share of recent high school graduates in community colleges than other states—but is near the bottom when it comes to enrolling in four-year colleges and universities. Transferring to four-year institutions thus plays a vital role in boosting the number of bachelor’s degree holders in the state and strengthening the economic security of California workers.
This study from the Public Policy Institute of California analyzes current transfer trends, as well as identifies opportunities for improving transfer rates. Among the findings:
- Most students who wish to transfer never do, with a large variation across racial and ethnic groups. About 19 percent of transfer-intending students transfer within four years of initial enrollment and 10 percent do so within two years. About one in four Asian and white transfer-intending students transfer within four years, compared to 13 percent of Black and 16 percent of Latino students.
- Racial disparities in transfer are persistent, despite dramatic gains that have been made among students from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups. Transfers from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups (i.e., Latino, Black, Native American, and Pacific Islander students) have grown dramatically at the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU). Even so, these groups remain underrepresented among transfer cohorts compared to their proportion of all transfer-intending community college students. For example, Latinos made up half of first-time transfer-intending California community colleges students in fall 2019, but only 26 percent of transfer enrollees at UC in fall 2022.
- Regional disparities also persist. For example, the share of transfers to UC from the San Joaquin Valley (3 percent) and Inland Empire (6 percent) fall significantly below their share of the community college population (10 percent each).
- Substantial increases in transfer enrollment were stifled by the pandemic. From 2000 to 2020, the number of new transfer enrollees from California community colleges more than doubled at UC campuses and increased by more than 50 percent at CSU campuses. As a result of the pandemic, transfer enrollment declined markedly, dropping 7.6 percent between the two systems from 2021 to 2022.