There's a quicker, cheaper way to go to college, but fewer students are trying it

[ss20ts]

It really depends on the state - some systems are better than others at the transfer.  CA is excellent; they even have a great way to get into VERY competitive schools like Berkeley and Davis, by using the TAG system; you are guaranteed a spot in a UC through TAG.

Other states have been making it easier for students to make the transition over the last few years, and they're doing a great job.

But some states are terrible, and make it impossible for students to complete degrees in 4 years with the 2+2 system.

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Transferring from a community college doesn't work for everyone. Been there. Done that. I would have transferred as a second semester freshman after completing my AAS instead of a first semester junior which is what I was at the private school I transferred to made me. They actually accepted my 60+ credits. The 4 year state school in the same system as the community college would not accept most of my courses even though they used the exact same textbook for many of my classes. It was an absolute nightmare trying to transfer to a state school.

An AAS will be far less transferable, because it's not meant to be a transfer degree, but a terminal degree.  There are generally far fewer GenEd credits, and many state schools that take AA/AS degrees in full don't have a ton of space for Free Electives, which is what most AAS major coursework would be.

In my case, I have an AAS and an AS. I was still only going ot be made a second semester freshman because the 4 year school didn't accept most credits from the surrounding community colleges. It is a bit better today, but it's still not easy to transfer in this state system and get all of the credit you've earned to be included. Private schools are still typically much easier to transfer to which was the case for me. The private school had no problem making me a first semester junior with my AAS degree and they gave me credit for all of the courses I completed. AAS is many subjects such as business and accounting are quite common in community colleges. Few here offer anything aside from an AAS. Same goes for many of the IT majors.