Community colleges play a vital role in expanding access to higher education, especially for students from historically underserved communities. Understanding how students navigate the transfer pathway from two-year to four-year institutions is essential for improving educational outcomes. This blog highlights findings from the National Student Clearinghouse’s Tracking Transfer report, comparing New Jersey’s community college students to national trends in transfer and bachelor’s degree completion.
New Jersey’s community colleges offer both transfer-oriented degrees such as the Associate of Arts and Associate of Science, as well as career-focused programs like the Associate of Applied Science and various certificates. In the fall of 2017, these institutions enrolled 146,862 students, including 30,638 who were attending college for the first time on either a full- or part-time basis. This group represented 20.9% of the state’s community college population. For context, first-time students made up 17.3% of the 4.75 million community college students enrolled across the country that semester (IPEDS, 2017). Accountability for higher education institutions relies, in part, on student outcome metrics (e.g., retention, graduation, and transfer rates) that are based on first-time, full-time students, an even smaller subset.
The most recent Tracking Transfer report focuses on students who began their community college journey in fall 2017. According to the report, 36.9% of New Jersey’s first-time community college students transferred to a four-year institution within six years, outperforming the national transfer rate of 31.6%. However, a smaller share of New Jersey’s transfer students (41.6%) earned a community college credential before transferring, compared to 53.9% nationally. Among the New Jersey students who transferred from a community college in 2017, one in five had completed a bachelor’s degree within six years (20.9%), compared with one in six of their peers nationwide (16.1%).
Transfer and completion rates vary significantly by race and ethnicity. Asian and White students in New Jersey transferred and earned bachelor’s degrees at notably higher rates than Black and Hispanic students, with gaps exceeding 20 percentage points in both outcomes. Specifically, Black and Hispanic students transferred from a community college to a four-year college or university at a rate of 29.1%, with bachelor’s completion rates of 11.5% and 13.8%, respectively. In contrast, Asian students transferred at a rate of 53.9% and completed bachelor’s degrees at a rate of 33.5%, while White students transferred at a rate of 44.6% and completed degrees at a rate of 28.4%. Compared to national averages, New Jersey’s Asian, White, and Hispanic students had higher transfer rates, while Black students performed at similar levels to their peers across the country. All groups of transferring community college students in New Jersey exceeded national averages in bachelor’s degree attainment.
Neighborhood income also plays a significant role in student outcomes. In New Jersey, students from higher-income areas transferred and completed degrees at consistently higher rates. Those from the highest income quintile transferred at a rate of 46.4% and completed bachelor’s degrees within six years at a rate of 28.8%, while students from the lowest income quintile transferred at 23.9% and completed degrees at just 8.9%. Nationally, high-income students had slightly lower rates of transfer (45.8%) and completion (27.0%) than in New Jersey, while low-income students across the country performed better than their New Jersey counterparts (25.9% transfer, 11.3% completion).
Gender differences also emerged. Female students outpaced their male peers in both transfer and bachelor’s completion rates, both in New Jersey and nationally. Age was another factor, with younger students achieving higher transfer and completion rates. Students in New Jersey, regardless of gender or age group, performed better than the national averages.
New Jersey’s community college students generally outperform their national peers in transfer and bachelor’s degree completion rates. However, persistent gaps across race, income, gender, and age highlight the need for more equitable support systems. The data suggest that New Jersey’s community colleges are more successful than the average for the country in helping students transfer and complete bachelor’s degrees. However, the lower rate of credentialed transfers and the equity gaps across demographic groups point to areas for improvement. Addressing these gaps is critical for improving long-term outcomes and ensuring that all students have a fair chance to succeed.
| Table 1: Transfer and Completion Rates by Race/Ethnicity | ||||
| Transfer-Out Rates | Bachelor’s Completion Rates | |||
| New Jersey | National | New Jersey | National | |
| White | 44.6% | 36.1% | 28.4% | 20.2% |
| Hispanic | 29.1% | 27.6% | 13.8% | 13.0% |
| Black | 29.1% | 29.3% | 11.5% | 10.2% |
| Asian | 53.9% | 48.5% | 33.5% | 27.9% |
| Native American | 38.2% | 31.7% | 23.5% | 14.1% |
| Multiracial | 43.5% | 35.5% | 23.0% | 16.8% |
| Native Hawaiian | 23.8% | 26.3% | – | 11.8% |
| International | – | 36.4% | 51.1% | 23.7% |
| Total | 36.9% | 31.6% | 20.9% | 16.1% |
Source: National Student Clearinghouse (2025)
| Table 2: Transfer and Completion Rates by Neighborhood Income | ||||
| Transfer-Out Rates | Bachelor’s Completion Rates | |||
| New Jersey | National | New Jersey | National | |
| Top quintile | 46.4% | 45.8% | 28.8% | 27.0% |
| Upper middle quintile | 38.7% | 36.7% | 22.0% | 19.5% |
| Middle quintile | 31.0% | 31.6% | 15.2% | 15.8% |
| Lower middle quintile | 28.2% | 28.5% | 11.9% | 13.4% |
| Bottom quintile | 23.9% | 25.9% | 8.9% | 11.3% |
| Missing | 34.6% | 29.5% | – | – |
| Total | 36.9% | 31.6% | 20.9% | 16.1% |
Source: National Student Clearinghouse (2025)
| Table 3: Transfer and Completion Rates by Gender | ||||
| Transfer-Out Rates | Bachelor’s Completion Rates | |||
| New Jersey | National | New Jersey | National | |
| Female | 40.5% | 34.6% | 23.1% | 17.9% |
| Male | 35.0% | 29.9% | 19.6% | 14.9% |
| Total | 36.9% | 31.6% | 20.9% | 16.1% |
Source: National Student Clearinghouse (2025)
| Table 4: Transfer and Completion Rates by Age at Entry | ||||
| Transfer-Out Rates | Bachelor’s Completion Rates | |||
| New Jersey | National | New Jersey | National | |
| Under 18 | 42.9% | 40.8% | 26.2% | 21.9% |
| 18 to 20 | 39.5% | 33.5% | 22.8% | 17.4% |
| 21 to 24 | 24.4% | 22.8% | 11.2% | 9.9% |
| 35 to 29 | 22.3% | 20.0% | 8.5% | 7.9% |
| 30 or older | 17.3% | 16.3% | 6.2% | 6.7% |
| Total | 36.9% | 31.6% | 20.9% | 16.1% |
Source: National Student Clearinghouse (2025)
References:
National Student Clearinghouse (NSC), 2025. Tracking Transfer. Retrieved from https://nscresearchcenter.org/tracking-transfer/
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), 2017, Fall enrollment. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/use-the-data