College graduation rates have increased. We can thank community colleges.

College graduation rates are up – in fact, they are at their highest level in 12 years. New data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center shows that more than 60% of students who started working toward a degree in 2018 completed it. The real success story here: Community colleges offer two-year degrees.

When Rebecca Hansen graduated high school, college wasn’t in sight. Instead, she became a beautician.

“My dad said, ‘That’s great.’ When are you starting college?’ And I thought, “That’s it, Dad.” I’ll never go to college. “This is my career,” she said.

But when the youngest of her four children started school five years ago, she enrolled at a community college to train as a therapist.

“It has made me a much stronger mother, wife and community member,” she said.

Hansen is part of a wave of people attending and graduating from community colleges.

Doug Shapiro of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center cited two reasons for this trend. No. 1: The sharp decline in enrollment related to the pandemic was a wake-up call for community colleges.

“They had to focus much more on supporting the remaining students and helping them stay on track to graduation,” he said.

And No. 2: Dual enrollment has increased significantly. “This refers to high school students who are already taking college courses while in high school,” Shapiro said. “Their graduation rates are much higher.”

Shapiro expects both to continue and graduation rates to continue to rise.

That’s promising news, said Bill DeBaun of the advocacy group National College Attainment Network, but there’s context to consider. At four-year institutions, more than 60% of students graduate within six years.

On the other hand, “the community college area here is still 43% complete. There’s still a lot of room for growth,” he said.

And although graduation rates have increased, enrollment has declined since its peak in 2010.

“We need to think about whether we’re actually getting enough students in so that they can benefit from the better graduation outcomes that we’re seeing in this data,” DeBaun said.

He said the number of 18-year-olds is also declining and that high school graduates are much less likely to not start college right away.