The contribution of two-year colleges to post-secondary physics enrollments Available to Purchase

Last month we looked at enrollment in various types of post-secondary physics courses. We noted that enrollments at two-year colleges (TYCs) had grown at a rate that was about double the rate of growth in enrollments in institutions that offer at least a bachelor's degree in physics. Another way to examine the contribution of TYCs to post-secondary physics education is to consider the proportion of student enrollment in each type of physics course that is taught at TYCs versus degree-granting physics departments. In 1995, about 20% of students taking physics (calculus-based, algebra-trig-based, and conceptual) were enrolled in these courses at TYCs. The most recent data show that about 26% of the students in these courses were taking them at TYCs. (For courses that are taught in sequences across two or more semesters or quarters, these data include only enrollments in the first course of the sequence.) The distribution varies by...