Community colleges are increasingly enrolling students with significant skill deficits, study finds

December 12, 2024

By MICHAEL JONAS

Earning two-year community college degrees in health care or STEM fields can put young people on a solid course to better earnings in well-paid fields with high demand for workers in Massachusetts, but there are big gaps in those seeking these degrees between students from low-income and better-off households. 

That’s among the more significant findings from a new study of Massachusetts community colleges that highlights the promise of economic mobility offered by the state’s 15 two-year campuses – and the challenges they face in translating that opportunity to tangible gains for students with the most need. 

The study, led by Richard Murnane, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, looked at the record of Massachusetts high school graduates who enrolled in a state community college from 2005 to 2016. 

Among the more striking findings was the sharp increase over this 12-year period in the share of community college students from low-income households. The share of students at community colleges whose family income made them eligible for free- or reduced-price lunch while in high school more than doubled, going from roughly 20 percent in 2005 to nearly half (48 percent) of all students by 2016, an increase that Murnane called “staggering.” 

Both male and female students from better-off households were far more likely to obtain STEM degrees than those from low-income backgrounds, a trend that grew stronger over the 12 years tracked by the study. Females from higher income homes were also much more likely to get health care degrees than those from lower-income households, while the number of males pursuing health care degrees were very small regardless of family income. 

The study found that students are arriving at community colleges with low math skills, putting them at a sharp disadvantage when it comes to obtaining degrees in better-paying STEM and health care fields. Only about a third of the roughly 82,000 students in the study database had 10th grade math MCAS scores above the state average.

“Community colleges in Massachusetts are increasingly serving young people who have not fared well in K-12 schooling and consequently are entering college with lots of skill deficits,” said Murnane. 

Those with below-average math scores on MCAS were roughly half as likely to get associate’s degrees in a health care or STEM program as those with above-average math scores. 

“It’s extremely important that kids get strong math backgrounds in middle and high school,” said Murnane. “A big question now is, what’s the state going to do when you don’t have MCAS as a graduation requirement,” he said, referring to last month’s statewide ballot question vote. 

Community colleges have long faced the challenge of low overall completion rates – students entering a program but not obtaining a degree in it – a problem that extends to the STEM majors that the study focused on. Less than 25 percent of students from any of the 12 entering-year cohorts who enrolled in a STEM program at a community college obtained an associate’s degree in that field within six years. The share of Black and Hispanic students obtaining STEM degrees was much lower than that for white and Asian students. 

Among the reasons for the low completion rates, the study said, were students being drawn to STEM majors because of the higher salaries in those jobs but not being prepared for the detail-oriented rigor of the field. Community college officials told the researchers that those entering STEM programs also face the same challenges that can hinder all community college students. “Students are one incident away from withdrawing from all their courses,” one dean said, citing everyday obstacles like the breakdown of a car or loss of childcare.

A 2021 report, co-authored by Alicia Modestino of Northeastern University and Ben Forman, research director at the nonpartisan think tank MassINC, highlighted the significant labor market returns from community college degrees in STEM and health care fields. The study compared employment rates and earnings for associate’s degree recipients and those who only completed high school. Men had earnings gains of $10,000 in STEM fields. Women had annual earnings premiums ranging from $3,300 for STEM field degrees to $14,100 for health fields. (MassINC is the publisher of CommonWealth Beacon.) 

The new study found that many more females than males pursue health care degrees at community colleges, while the reverse is true for STEM programs. The number of students entering STEM programs increased during the 12-year study period, while enrollment in health care programs remained fairly flat. The overall numbers for both areas, however, remain low, regardless of race or gender. For all groups, fewer than 10 percent of each entering cohort obtained a STEM degree within six years and less than 5 percent did so in a health care program.  

The study said constraints in the capacity of health care programs was a major obstacle to more students pursuing such degrees. “Many students who meet the qualifications for selective health care occupations are placed on waiting lists,” the study said, citing a health program director at one of the state’s largest community colleges who told them there were 95 qualified applicants for a surgical technology program at her campus, but only 32 seats. 

“It is a missed opportunity,” Murnane said of capacity limits in the face of high demand for skilled health care workers. Addressing the mismatch may require a rethinking of funding issues. “These programs are expensive to run in health care,” he said, “and if you’re struggling financially, as all the community colleges are, it makes your financial situation worse if you expand programs that are expensive.”