Abstract
Community colleges have been widely heralded by policymakers as playing an important role in STEM education and workforce development. Yet existing research on community college STEM students and their pathways is limited and does not inform current reform efforts. In this paper, we examine a nationally representative sample of STEM students to understand the types of programs they enroll in, their characteristics, and their enrollment patterns and outcomes. Community college STEM students enroll in two distinct kinds of programs: science and engineering programs (S&E) and technician programs. Whereas S&E programs are transfer-oriented programs that lead to S&E occupations that require bachelor's degrees, technician programs are workforce-oriented programs that lead to technician occupations where subbaccalaureate credentials are valuable. Students in these programs differ in many ways from four-year STEM students and are similar to the broader community college population. Despite their commonalities, community college S&E and technician students differ from each other in their characteristics and experiences. Many students in both S&E and technician programs make decisions about their majors later in their college careers and move in and out of STEM programs relatively frequently, although students in technician programs are more likely to drop out than S&E students. Ultimately, six years after enrollment both S&E and technician students have low credential completion rates, but many remain enrolled in a STEM program. The similarity of community college STEM students to the community college population at large makes broader community college reforms relevant to this particular group of students. Four-year STEM reforms, on the other hand, may need to be considered carefully for their applicability to community college STEM students. Furthermore, while they share characteristics and experiences, S&E and technician students are not a uniform group and require reforms that factor in their distinct goals and characteristics.