Intensity and Attachment: How the Chaotic Enrollment Patterns of Community College Students Relate to Educational Outcomes

This study examines the relationship between community college enrollment patterns and student outcomes-credential completion and transfer to a 4-year institution-introducing a new way of visualizing the various attendance patterns of community college students. Patterns of enrollment intensity (full-or part-time status) and continuity (enrolling in consecutive terms or skipping one or more terms) are graphed and then clustered according to their salient features. Using data on cohorts of firsttime community college students at five colleges in a single state, the study finds astounding variation in student enrollment patterns. Clustering these patterns reveals two relationships: the first is a positive association between enrollment continuity and earning a community college credential, and the second is a positive association between enrollment intensity and likelihood of transfer.