Where to Go From Here? Toward a Model of 2-Year College Students’ Postsecondary Pathway Selection

Abstract

Objective: Empirical work explaining student mobility, particularly postsecondary pathways among 2-year college students, remains limited. This study examines the underlying process that drives 2-year college students into one or more pathways as they navigate higher education. Method: Drawing upon survey, transcript, and interview data from one transfer-focused and two comprehensive community colleges in a Midwestern state, this study uses a grounded theory approach to develop a conceptual model to understand college students’ decision-making process when choosing among competing postsecondary pathways. Results: The resulting College Pathway (Re)Selection Model Among Beginning 2-Year College Students contained two categories—lifetime decision-making and short-term decision-making—that defined the purposes of students’ decisions as they navigate postsecondary education. Within the categories, 2-year college students described the role of payoff, fit, transferability, place, flexibility, and mobility in their decision-making process. Contributions: This study offers a new model that explains what shapes 2-year college students’ decisions and challenges notions of postsecondary pathways, student progress, success, and completion in the context of 2-year college students’ fluid lives and goals.