Differential Characteristics of 2-Year Postsecondary Institutions (NCES 2007-164)

Two-year institutions, including community colleges and career schools, have become increasingly important in American higher education. Many classification systems for 2-year institutions use a wide array of characteristics and perspectives to differentiate between 2-year institutions. This report uses a classification system for 2-year institutions that uses number of variables available on the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to identify seven groups of 2-year institutions: small publics; medium-sized publics; large publics; allied health not-for-profits; other not-for-profits; degree-granting for-profits; and other for-profits. The report presents brief profiles for each classification type, then focuses on four broad topic areas (institutional resources, student characteristics, institutional affordability, and measures of student success) to highlight the key differences that set a particular institutional type apart.