Through the Gate: Mapping the Transfer Landscape and Understanding What Students Say Builds Their Capacity for Transfer

Abstract

ABSTRACT Educational practitioners, researchers, and policymakers have focused on increasing community college transfer rates as an equity strategy for improving social and economic mobility among historically underserved populations. While there is a vast amount of research on students who have successfully transferred, there is limited evidence base on the experience of community college students who are on the verge of this transition. This study employed a mixed-methods design to map California’s transfer landscape and understand what factors facilitate or hinder students’ capacity to transfer to a university successfully. Findings reveal a missed opportunity: between 2010 and 2015, over one-third (N = 292,556) of California community college students did not make it “through the gate” to a university within six years – even though they had met most or all of their transfer requirements. Subsequent student surveys and interviews revealed four critical factors for building students’ transfer capacity and helping them reach their goals of a baccalaureate degree and economic and social mobility for themselves and their families: university affordability, school-life balance, pathway navigation, and support network. This article discusses implications and future research considerations for leveraging these findings to support equity and transfer success efforts.