CLEVELAND, Ohio - A two-year associate of arts degree from a community college rarely benefits graduates unless they go on to earn a four-year degree, according to a new study.

But federal data shows that only about 10 percent of students who started at a community college in 2010 received a bachelor's degree six years later, according to the study, Saving the Associate of Arts Degree: How an A.A. Degree Can Become a Better Path to Labor Market Success, by the American Enterprise Institute.

"To be clear, students who complete an A.A. degree earn on average more than a high school graduate -- so it is not that the degree has no value," the report says. "Rather, we show that far too often A.A. degree holders fare poorly compared to either graduates who are completing an associate degree in a technical field or what they could earn had they mastered more marketable skills during their course of study in the liberal arts.

"Clearly, for far too many students, the A.A. degree represents a pathway not to a bachelor's degree but to nowhere. This reality has implications for both students and community colleges."

Karen Miller, provost and executive vice president at Cuyahoga Community College, disagrees.

"There are skills that students get with a liberal arts education that are arguably just as valuable as the technical skills," she said. "The conversation is not new to us. I think that folks understand that it is intended to be the transfer degree - the beginning of the bachelor's degree. The value of it alone is not a big secret."

Tri-C values the liberal arts, shown in the expansion and creation of the Mandel Humanities Center, she said.

About 48 percent of Tri-C's students graduate with an associate of arts degree, she said. But only about 40 percent of those graduates transfer to a four-year school.

In the last two years, Tri-C has made a greater commitment to ensure students transfer, Miller said. There are transfer centers at all four campuses and advisors work with students as soon as they enroll to make sure they are on the right path to transfer to a four-year school.

"There is a lot of national data that show that students who complete an associate of arts degree before they transfer to a university are more likely to finish their degree" than a student who enrolls as a freshman in the university, she said. "We feel it is very valuable - they are walking away with a credential and it helps motivate a student."

Even if graduates don't transfer, they are sought by employers because they have a degree and are wiling to be trained, she said.

According to the report, by the nonpartisan conservative public policy research institute:

Community colleges awarded more than 670,000 associate degrees during the 2014-15 academic year. Roughly 289,000 (over 40 percent) were in liberal arts, general studies, and humanities.

About 32,000 job postings in 2016 specifically asked for an associate of arts degree. Five years after graduation, A.A. degree holders earn on average less than $40,000 per year.

With a few additional skills, A.A. graduates could compete for more jobs and earn at least $4,000 more annually. The wage penalty for A.A. degree holders is even greater compared to their peers who earn technically oriented associate's degrees.

Students need more information to help them find community college programs that deliver marketable skills and community colleges should reform A.A. programs to add elective skills-based courses or embed high-value, industry-recognized certifications into those courses of study.

Colleges need to establish strong ties with local employers, both to increase awareness of needed skills and to provide avenues for students into employment.

This story has been changed to reflect that Karen Miller is the provost of Tri-C. The name was was incorrect.