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Every year, around 670,000 students earn associate degrees from community colleges—yet only about 32,000 job postings in 2016 specifically asked for an associate of arts (A.A.) degree. Five years after graduation, A.A. degree holders earn on average less than $40,000 per year.
With a few additional skills, A.A. graduates could compete for more jobs and earn at least $4,000 more annually. The wage penalty for A.A. degree holders is even greater compared to their peers who earn technically oriented associate’s degrees.
Because A.A. degrees are designed as transfer credentials and not to equip students with marketable skills, hundreds of thousands of these A.A. graduates are losing thousands of dollars in earnings year after year.
Students need more information to help them find community college programs that deliver marketable skills, and community colleges should reform A.A. programs to add elective skills-based courses or embed high-value, industry-recognized certifications into those courses of study.
In theory, the transfer process can save students a significant amount of money. According to the College Board, in 2016–17 the average full-time student at a public two-year college must cover about $7,560 in net tuition, books, fees, and living expenses. At the same time, the average full-time, in-state student at a public four-year institution pays $14,210 per year. Thus, a student who attends a community college for two years and then transfers to a bachelor’s degree program can save, on average, around $13,000. As attractive as this transfer mechanism may be, the ideal of a seamless, lower-cost pathway from an A.A. degree to a bachelor’s degree plays out far too infrequently.