Who Enrolls in Two-year Colleges?
A National Study of Price Response
by Timothy Stokes and Patricia Somers
Timothy Stokes is Dean of
The authors examine the factors that influence the college choice process of two-year
Tacoma Community
college students and explore the effect these variables have on the two-year/four-year
College, in Tacoma, WA.
college choice dichotomy, using the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study
Patricia Somers is Associate
(NPSAS) of 1995-96 and the Beginning Postsecondary (BPS) component of that
Professor of Higher
survey. This study provides new insight into the influence that background
Education for the University
characteristics, aspirations, high school experience, college experience, price and
of Texas at Austin
subsidy, and beginning postsecondary variables have on a student’s decision to attend
a two-year college as compared to a four-year institution. The study finds that
ethnicity, location, high school degree attainment, educational achievement (as
measured by high school GPA and ACT score), tuition and fee rates, net cost, and
campus climate are the most influential variables influencing a student’s decision to
attend a two-year college.
T
wo-year colleges have become the institutions of choice for individuals
who enroll in public higher education. In 2003, for example, forty-three
percent of all students in public institutions attended two-year colleges
(Profile of Undergraduate Students, 2007). The two primary factors that influence
students’ decisions to enroll in a two-year college are cost and location (Somers,
Bauer, Haines, Keene, Pfeiffer, McCluskey, Settle, & Sparks, 2006); however,
there may be other significant factors to consider when assessing a student’s
college choice decision.
Two-year colleges assert that they are mechanisms of access for many
individuals who would not otherwise pursue higher education, and this is an
important component in their mission. The diversity of the student population
is a powerful market force that is positively affecting community colleges.
Research on the college decision-making process focuses almost exclusively on
the factors that influence the “college choice” of students attending four-year
colleges and universities. This research has led to the development of theoretical
models that explain the decision-making process of students seeking four-year
bachelor’s degrees. No attempts have been made to use the existing “models of
choice” to determine whether the factors influencing college choice of students
attending four-year colleges and universities also pertain to students attending
two-year colleges.
This study examines factors that influence whether students choose to attend
a two-year college. We developed a model that may be applied to two-year
college choice, explored the factors that significantly influence college choice
among students attending two-year colleges, and examined how these variables
are associated with a student’s decision to attend a two-year college versus a
four-year institution.
4 Journal of Student Financial Aid Volume 39 • Number 1 • 2009
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