The 2025 SCCO Data Collection

The institutional structure that surrounds community and technical colleges differs notably by state. In most states, individual institution data for this survey was provided through a single entity: a state-organized community college system or the state higher education agency. In some states, however, data on students and programs were collected and reported entirely by the individual college. The evolution of this work highlighted the diversity of structure, programs, and focus of community colleges throughout the nation. Collecting data on states outside of the Fifth District enables a broader understanding of both challenges and opportunities in our workforce development system. The states and schools in this survey represent colleges or systems of colleges that actively sought to better understand their own cohorts and programs.

We worked closely with data providers to ensure consistent definitions, standardized reporting timelines, and data collection processes across states. We employed a robust data validation and review process, taking all feasible steps to ensure data accuracy. Because we collect institution-level data, we rely on data providers to aggregate student data for SCCO reporting.

By including more of the student population served by community colleges, the cohort size for the Richmond Fed Success Rate is consistently larger than the representative graduation rate cohort. For schools that primarily serve traditional students who meet IPEDS cohort criteria, the increase in cohort size is relatively small. Schools that serve a significant number of part-time students or students who have prior college experience can have a cohort that is many times larger than the traditional graduation rate cohort.

To construct a numerator that reflects the key pathways community college students pursue, we include students who meet the traditional graduation measure (e.g., students who were awarded a degree/qualifying long-term certificate). Cohort students who do not meet this criterion are still counted as “success” if they meet one of the following criteria:

• Awarded a workforce-recognized credential or licensure (e.g., non-credit certificate or credential issued by the institution, state-issued licensure, industry certification exam);
• Transferred to a four-year institution prior to earning an award from the community college; or
• Persisted (enrolled in any term during the study year, completed at least 30 credit hours, and had a 2.0 GPA).

The revised definition of student success with the expanded community college cohort yields the Richmond Fed Success Rate:

Even within states, both the magnitude and composition of institution success rates vary significantly.

Geographic setting is just one factor affecting student success. While we see trends that align with the urban-rural landscape, success rates vary across institutions within each of these categories.

Success Pathways Vary Along Student Characteristics

Community colleges serve a broad group of students, including students who are seeking credentials for a certain career, students who plan to pursue a degree at a four-year institution, adult students who are already in the workforce, and many more.

In this section, we examine how success rates vary along two sets of dimensions: enrollment status and age. We will explore these characteristics and others in more detail in future publications.

Overall, the part-time student success rate is 43.6 percent — roughly 13 percentage points below the full-time student success rate.

Comparing the composition of success rates across full- and part-time students yields some surprises. For example, the primary difference in success rates comes from the much larger share (a 17-percentage point difference) of full-time students earning associate degrees.

Because part-time students tend to succeed at lower rates than full-time students, institutions with predominantly part-time cohorts tend to have lower overall success rates relative to institutions with cohorts comprised largely of full-time students.

Age

We break down each school’s cohort into three age groups based on the age of students in the first semester, limiting it to students who have already graduated from high school¹. Across the 115 institutions for which we have age data, 12 percent (23,068 students) were under the age of 18 when they entered the institution. Two-thirds of students (127,312) were between the ages of 18 and 24. Adult learners (ages 25 and older) comprised 22 percent of the cohort.

On aggregate, the youngest group of students have the highest rate of success at 61.2 percent. Students ages 25 and older have the lowest success rate. Younger students tend to have higher rates of successful outcomes, with the greatest gap being in urban areas where students under 18 have an aggregate success rate 20 percentage points higher than those ages 25 and older.

These results are not entirely surprising: Adult learners are more likely to be employed full-time or have caregiving responsibilities compared to recent high school graduates. Therefore, these students may face more roadblocks to completing their education, while younger students may benefit from a financial safety net by a parent or guardian.

Students in the youngest cohort outperform older students in both attaining associate degrees and transferring to four-year institutions. On the other hand, compared with younger students, older students are more likely to complete certificates/post-secondary diplomas and workforce credentials. This aligns with trends we see broadly: Adult learners tend to gravitate toward shorter-term credentials instead of two- and four-year degrees.