For the past two years, AGI’s Geoscience Student Exit Survey has been used to collect data investigating successful two-year college transfer students. Geoscience graduates with a bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree who spent at least one semester at a two-year college were asked questions about the vehicles for successful transfer to a four-year institution and the major challenges faced while working towards their terminal degree. All recent graduates that take AGI’s Exit Survey have the opportunity to share their major challenge or challenges to obtaining their terminal degree.

In 2013 and 2014, the Geoscience Student Exit Survey administered by the American Geosciences Institute was used to investigate the transfer experiences of students who attended a two-year college (2YC) for at least one semester during their postsecondary education. Combined, over 27% of recent geoscience graduates reported having attended a 2YC for at least one semester. These graduates were invited to identify which factors allowed them to be successful in transfer to the receiving four-year college or university (4YC).

For the past several decades, community college students have comprised approximately one-third of the total college student population enrolled in credit courses within the United States. In 2008, underrepresented minority students comprised 33 percent of total community college enrollments, and earned 26 percent of all associate degrees.

Community colleges served over 7.5 million students in 2009, and have a more diverse student population than four-year institutions. In 2008, 58% of community college students were women and 33% of students were underrepresented minorities. Community colleges provide a large diverse pool of untapped talent for the geosciences and for all science and engineering disciplines. The most recent data from NSF's 2006 NSCRG database indicate that within the physical sciences, 43% of Bachelor's, 31% of Master's and 28% of Doctoral recipients had attended community college.