Community colleges (CC) serve about 40% of all postsecondary students, and CC students are disproportionately from backgrounds where inequities in attainment exist. Though the vast majority of enrolled CC students aspire to achieve a bachelor’s degree or higher, approximately one-third of CC students transfer to a four-year institution within six years.

State systems have implemented promising strategies to facilitate the two- to four-year transfer, and ultimately bachelor’s degree attainment, for CC students. For example, so-called Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) have had tremendous attainment and transfer results at the City University of New York (and now in Ohio).

NCAN recommends that states:

• Create a system-wide adoption of an accelerated study for associate programs (e.g., CUNY ASAP Model).
• Create an institutional transfer pathway program (e.g. ASU Pathways Program, Advance at NOVA/GMU).
• Create a universal course catalogue for public institutions and require course credit transfer (e.g., Florida).

Two- to four-year transfer resources:

MDRC

• Increasing Community College Graduation Rates: A Synthesis of Findings on the ASAP Model from Six Colleges Across Two States
• Increasing Community College Graduation Rates with a Proven Model: Three-Year Results from the Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) Ohio Demonstration
• Doubling Graduation Rates: Three-Year Effects of CUNY’s Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) for Developmental Education Students

The Chronicle of Higher Education

• "These 2-Year and 4-Year College Partnerships Keep Students From Falling Through the Cracks"

Diverse: Issues In Higher Education

• Why Flexibility in Credit Transfers Is Crucial for Equity in a Post-COVID-19 World