UCLA

While residents of Los Angeles County appear to have access to seemingly endless postsecondary opportunities within their proximity, the geography of opportunity for accessible options of higher education leading to bachelor’s degrees in the area requires further exploration. This case study explores the spatial contexts and 3-year transfer successes of students attending Sunshine Community College (SCC). Spatial quantitative methods and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software are used to combine Census American Community Survey (ACS) data on educational attainment with student-level data from the institution and the characteristics of surrounding institutions of higher education from IPEDS to explore the relationship between transfer completion and the geography of college opportunity for community college students. An index was calculated to represent the geography of college opportunity (GCO) surrounding each student within their 5-mile spatial contexts and descriptive and inferential analyses run to inform our understanding of the concept of geography of opportunity and its relation to community college transfer. Several variables calculated in the creation of the GCO Index show a statistically significant negative weak relationship with transfer. For instance, students who are surrounded by fewer institutions of higher education have higher 3-year transfer rates and students who have more institutions of higher education in their vicinity have lower transfer rates. The inclusion of for-profit institutions help account for such findings and, as such, recommendations for future research considerations include exercising caution when including for-profit institutions in the analysis of geography of college opportunity. The results of this study will inform ways to better support students in their persistence toward overall educational goals of transfer and degree attainment and to enhance support structures for students from a range of spatial contexts seeking timely and cost-effective completion outcomes. Keywords: community college students, geography of college opportunity, transfer, spatial contexts, GIS