TY - JOUR T1 - Do the Returns to Community Colleges Differ between Academic and Vocational Programs? JF - Journal of Human Resources JO - J Hum Resour SP - 134 LP - 155 DO - 10.3368/jhr.XXXVIII.1.134 VL - XXXVIII IS - 1 AU - Andrew M. Gill AU - Duane E. Leigh Y1 - 2003/01/01 UR - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/XXXVIII/1/134.abstract N2 - This paper provides new evidence about the payoffs to community colleges’ terminal training programs as distinct from their traditional transfer function. Using NLSY data, we offer three main findings. First, four-year college graduates who started at a community college are not at a substantial earnings disadvantage relative to those who started at a four-year college. Second, community college students in terminal training programs enjoy a positive payoff comparable to that received by four-year college starters who do not graduate. Finally, we find evidence of positive self-selection for community college students who choose the terminal training track. ER -