Bridging the Gaps: College Pathways to Career Success: College Pathways to Career Success

College for all has become the new American dream. Most high school students today express a desire to attend college, and 90 percent of on-time high school graduates enroll in higher education in the eight years following high school. Yet, degree completion rates remain low for nontraditional students-students who are older, low-income, or have poor academic achievement-even at community colleges that endeavor to serve them. What can colleges do to reduce dropouts? In Bridging the Gaps, education scholars James E. Rosenbaum, Caitlin E. Ahearn, and Janet E. Rosenbaum argue that when institutions focus only on bachelor's degrees and traditional college procedures, they ignore other pathways to educational and career success. Using multiple longitudinal studies, the authors evaluate the shortcomings and successes of community colleges and investigate how these institutions can promote alternatives to BAs and traditional college procedures to increase graduation rates and improve job payoffs.