The Myth of the Two-Year College : Length and Variation in the Time Students Take To Complete Associate Degree Requirements / Paul H. Dillon.

In 1990, a study was conducted of 1,912 students receiving associate in arts or associate in science degrees the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) in spring 1989 to determine the length of time taken to graduate. Data for the study were gathered from spring 1989 graduates' district transcript records which contained enrollment dates and demographic information including gender, age, and ethnicity. Major findings of the study included the following: (1) the average time from first enrollment in LACCD to graduation was 4.25 years, with students taking anywhere from one semester to more than 16 years to receive their degrees; (2) females took slightly longer to graduate than males; (3) students entering before age 20 and those entering after age 35 finished most rapidly (4 and 3.5 years respectively); (4) differences in graduation rates were found among ethnic groups, with Asian students graduating fastest in an average of 3.5 years; (5) fewer than half of the graduates were stopouts en route to earning a degree; (6) older students earned fewer units than younger students, while Whites and Blacks earned fewer total units than Hispanics and Asians; and (7) 25% of the students who entered between the ages of 25 and 34 stopped out eight or more times. Detailed graphs broken down by gender, age, and ethnicity provide specific data on years to graduation; semesters attended; number of stopouts to graduation; semester course load; total units earned; and total prerequisites and developmental units earned by graduates. (JMC)

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