| The demand for Community College Baccalaureate (CCB) degrees is rising due to increasing costs of educational obtainment resulting in decreased access. Also, universities are not always accessible geographically or academically to many students. Many students are limited in time and financial resources, and have family and job responsibilities, limiting their ability to relocate to a university. The focus of this study was to explore the perceptions of students regarding the need for the CCB, the effectiveness of the CCB, reasons why students would choose the CCB, and the fields of CCB degrees students would choose. Specifically, this study compared the results among student survey respondents based on their primary campus attended, age, gender, race/ethnicity, number of dependents, and employment status as well as their need for the CCB. All full-time and part-time students from a rural community college in Northeast Mississippi were asked to participate in the survey. Approximately 30% of respondents indicated that their only realistic option to obtain a bachelor's degree would be through their local community college. A majority of respondents perceived the CCB to be effective. And, respondents indicated that the factors that influenced their choice of the CCB were cost, location, work responsibilities, family responsibilities, admiration for current school, and familiarity for current school. The specific degree fields that respondents indicated they would choose if they were to obtain a CCB, from greatest interest to least, were: health professions, business, education, public administration/social work, "other", liberal arts and sciences, and psychology. When testing the differences in perception of effectiveness of the CCB between demographic groups, the CCB was perceived to be more effective by respondents who were older, had 1 dependent or 5 or more dependents, and who saw the CCB as their only option. When testing the differences in perceptions of reasons to choose the CCB, respondents who were older indicated more reasons for choosing the CCB. |
