CCBA & Bragg & Associates Release New Report:

Watch them Grow: The Evolution of Community College Baccalaureate Degrees

ORLANDO, Fla. (May 6, 2024) – The Community College Baccalaureate Association (CCBA) and research partner, Bragg & Associates, Inc., recently published a new report – Watch them Grow: The Evolution of Community College Baccalaureate Degrees – that highlights the recent significant growth of community college bachelor’s (CCB) degrees in the United States. 

Funded by ECMC Foundation, this research represents the latest and most comprehensive analysis of CCB degrees to date in the 50 states including tribal colleges and universities, and U.S. territories. Key findings, which were shared in April during a virtual convening led by CCBA and funded by The Joyce Foundation, include: 

• A 32 percent national increase in public community colleges approved to confer CCB degrees, from 132 in 2021 to 187 in 2023.
• Half of all CCB-conferring colleges in the country are minority-serving institutions (MSIs), with Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) making up three-quarters of these MSIs.
• Nearly half of CCB graduates are students of color, with 24 percent of graduating CCB students identified as Hispanic/Latine and 13 percent as Black.
• Nationally, about two-thirds of CCB graduates are women.
• Nearly all community colleges in Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Nevada, and Washington confer CCB degrees, reaching a total of 71 public community colleges, and another 40 community colleges in Arizona, Colorado, Ohio, and Wyoming are approved to deliver one or more CCB degrees. 
• California and Texas also experienced significant growth, with 32 community colleges in California and 21 in Texas now conferring CCB degrees. 
• Approximately half of all CCB programs award traditional bachelor of science (BS), bachelor of science in nursing (BSN), or bachelor of arts (BA) degrees rather than a bachelor’s of applied science (BAS).

ABOUT BRAGG & ASSOCIATES
Bragg and Associates, Inc., led by Dr. Debra Bragg, is an equity-minded consulting group dedicated to advancing student success in education and employment. In collaboration with Tim Harmon of Workforce Enterprise Strategies (WES) and New America, Bragg & Associates recently completed the first national inventory of CCB-degree programs in the United States. Bragg & Associates also led the creation of an E-Book highlighting promising practices to advance equitable student success in baccalaureate pathway attainment.

ABOUT CCBA
Since 1999, the Community College Baccalaureate Association (CCBA) has been the nation’s only organization dedicated to promoting baccalaureate degrees on community college campuses as a means of closing racial, ethnic, and economic gaps by providing its members access to research data and strategic guidance as they develop and implement their baccalaureate degree programs.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Community College Baccalaureate Association
Shelley Ouellette
407.314.0297
shelley@accbd.org