Academic Performance of Community College Transfers: Psychological, Sociodemographic, and Educational Correlates

Abstract

This study focuses on the academic performance of community college transfer students at four-year institutions. It uses a nationally representative sample from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS: 88/2000) and the Postsecondary Education Transcript Study (PETS). Results from an Ordinary Least Squares regression model suggest that community college transfers' academic performance can be explained by gender, race/ethnicity, self-concept, GPA at community colleges, remediation in math, college involvement, and simultaneous enrollment. These findings have important implications for policy-makers and practitioners at community colleges and four-year institutions.