Inducing Cross-Sector Enrollment for Community College Students through Burden Reduction

Authors

• Rachel Baker, University of Pennsylvania
• Michael Hill, University of the PacificFollow
• Gala Ledezma, University of California, Irvine
• Joshua Dorman, Saddleback College
• Loris Fagioli, Irvine Valley College
• Pablo Bezem, Arizona State University
• Michael Cooper, University of California, Irvine
• XunFei Li, University of California, Irvine

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

AEA Papers and Proceedings

ISSN

2574-0776

Volume

116

Issue

May 2026

DOI

10.1257/pandp.20261104

First Page

371

Last Page

375

Publication Date

5-2026

Abstract

Although most community college students intend to earn a bachelor’s degree, few successfully transfer to a four-year university. California’s cross-enrollment policy was intended to reduce transfer barriers by allowing community college students to take courses at public universities, yet participation remains extremely low. We present results from a student-level randomized experiment at three California community colleges designed to reduce informational, logistical, and financial barriers to cross-enrollment. Despite substantial student interest, the intervention increased applications by only 1.2 percentage points and successful enrollment by 0.7 percentage points. Results underscore the limits of individual-level supports in the face of complex procedural barriers.

Recommended Citation

Baker, Rachel, Michael Hill, Gala Ledezma, Joshua Dorman, Loris Fagioli, Pablo Bezem, Michael Cooper, and XunFei Li. 2026. "Inducing Cross-Sector Enrollment for Community College Students through Burden Reduction." AEA Papers and Proceedings 116: 371–375. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20261104