Exploring and Supporting Undergraduate Transfer Student Pathways and Success

Abstract

Transfer students from 2-yr colleges are more likely to be women, underrepresented minorities (URM), lower income, older, and financially independent than their non-transfer peers. All of these characteristics are also hallmarks of nontraditional students. Nontraditional students now comprise the majority of students in higher education in the US (Cruse, Eckerson, and Gault, 2018). The challenges faced by nontraditional students translate to lower retention rates in STEM (Kenner and Weinerman, 2011) with a lack of flexibility and technology gap cited as main barriers to success. The Microbiology and Cell Science (MCS) program implemented targeted interventions, including a hybrid online 2+2 degree track, face-to-face bootcamp labs, and need-based scholarships, with the hypothesis that increased opportunities and accessibility would enhance the retention and success of transfer students and reveal insights about their unique pathways and challenges. Evaluating the impact of these interventions on transfer student outcomes will lead to better design of strategies to enhance success. By considering Bean's model of nontraditional undergraduate student attrition (1985), we explore factors leading to retention within the context of our STEM major, which has transitioned from an entirely face-to-face to an online mode of delivery, and we consider the applicability to other STEM fields. A mixed methods approach was used to research socioeconomic and academic traits and outcomes of on-campus FTIC (N=900), on-campus transfer (N=240), and online transfer (N=182) microbiology students. We conclude that while these interventions broadened participation and increased diversity, transfer students still face different challenges than FTIC peers. Notably, over 75% of students in the online transfer track enroll part-time; whereas, nearly 90% of their on-campus transfer peers enroll full-time. This result is important because many scholarship interventions and policies require full-time enrollment for eligibility. Thus, a vast majority of our STEM students in transfer tracks are ineligible for programs designed to increase success. Most of these students are nontraditional, women, working parents and from underrepresented minorities. Understanding their unique pathways and challenges can enhance strategies and reframe policies for student success and serve as a model in other STEM disciplines. Speaker bio:Dr. Jennifer Drew is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Microbiology and Cell Science in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) at the University of Florida. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in human genomics. Her scholarship explores factors that affect student pathways and outcomes in STEM. With partner institution Miami Dade College, Jennifer Drew is the PI of an NSF S-STEM grant with an emphasis on researching the role of online education in increasing access and diversity in STEM, 2-year to 4-year transfer pathways in STEM, and meeting the challenges and needs of nontraditional undergraduate students.