Chapter 4: Segmentation, Capital, and Community College Transfer Students: Exploring Community Colleges as Agents of Currency

Forty years ago, it was commonplace for individuals to leave secondary education centers for the world of work. In contrast, the contemporary labor force of the millennium is marked with an increasing demand for high-skilled laborers. Little economic or occupational mobility exists for those who have not acquired some training beyond high school (Carnevale, Strohl, & Smith, 2009). Consequently, the call for more education is seen as quintessential to individual social capital, further developing America’s human capital, and fueling economic growth.

Postsecondary educational access has not always been readily attainable for the masses. Many underrepresented, disenfranchised groups remain at the margins of full participation. One notable threshold for marginalized populations to gain entry into higher learning has been in the doorsills of community colleges. The present chapter seeks to examine the segmentation of community college students in higher education and in what ways their previous two-year institutions equip them with capital necessary to transition to senior-level colleges and universities. More specifically, this chapter will explore whether community college transfer students look upon themselves as a capital good relative to their self-efficacy for navigating their pursuit of the baccalaureate. It is important to note that the manner in which a consumer engages with the marketplace of the American community college is complex and inconsistent based on the individual’s capital. Due to the fluidity of the term capital, this chapter in many ways seeks to contribute to the discourse on community colleges as agents of capital. More specifically, we contend that the transfer function of community colleges is an untapped currency area that deserves greater attention as a means for optimizing capital in the form of currency for the student consumer. Forms of capital under examination in this chapter include social, educational, human, and knowledge capital. In sum, this chapter endeavors to explore how those distinctions directly affect community college students, particularly how successfully managing transfer begets a form of capital (e.g., currency to spend at a senior level institution) that may impact the consumer’s currency.