Predicting Completion Rate at Public Community Colleges in California

Public policies and economic conditions have raised the expectations toward institutions of higher education, community colleges in particular, to produce more graduates and skilled workers. This study examines the impacts of institutional characteristics and administrative practices on completion rates at public community colleges in California. The study conducted a one-way ANOVA analysis to predict completion rates based on the institutional size, geographical location, and the number of community colleges in a district. It also conducted multiple regression analysis to predict completion rates based on employee compositions at each public community college in California. Results indicated that (a) small and medium size institutions had lower completion rates than large and very large ones, (b) rural institutions trailed behind their suburban and urban counterparts, (c) having two or three community colleges in a district predicted the highest completion rate compared to single district colleges and districts with four or more colleges, and (d) tenured faculty was the only variable that significantly correlated with the completion rate when compared to other categories.