A Psychology Learning Community for Transfer Majors: Its Impact on Student Performance and Perceptions During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Background Transfer students are a growing population of undergraduate psychology majors who are academically at-risk but often underserved by 4-year institutions. Objective We describe a transfer learning community (TLC) for entering psychology transfer students and report its impact on participants social and academic integration and success. Method A mixed-method design was used to compare academic success metrics (archival measures of first-semester grade point average and probation rates) of participants with entering transfer majors not participating in the learning community. A participant survey was also created and used to measure student perceptions of the TLC, as well as perceived challenges of transferring during the Covid-19 pandemic and how the TLC helped to mitigate them. Results During its first year, the TLC served 72 entering transfer majors across two cohorts. Participants significantly out-performed non-participant psychology transfer majors on first-semester grade point average and were significantly less likely to be placed on academic probation after their first semester than non-participant transfer majors. Conclusion The widely-reported benefits of learning communities for first-year psychology students are adaptable to the more at-risk population of transfer students. Teaching Implications Technology-enabled teaching tools can be used to build virtual community in hybrid and synchronous online learning environments.