Abstract
Various countries have alternative pathway policies for 2-year community college graduates to articulate to 2-year university study, forming a “2+2” pathway. However, few studies have explored university staff members’ perceptions of this “2+2” transfer pathway and their understanding of transfer students’ (TSs) transition experiences. This descriptive qualitative study addressed this research gap. Forty-two academic and supporting staff participated in the focus group interviews. Specifically, the study explored the assets and challenges of the “2+2” pathway from the university staff perspective in Hong Kong. The articulation pathway and TSs are highly recognized for their prior learning, academic performances, and the value of the second chance. However, while the university staff were sympathetic to the challenges filling these transfer pathways, their offering of help was limited by government funding and policies restrictions. It is recommended that policies should be established at government and university levels to recognize and tackle TSs’ unique needs to alleviate their heavy workloads through better articulation between community college and university studies. Improving articulation will allow TSs time for social involvement in university life and thus enhance their mental well-being.
Highlights
In recent decades, there has been a growing volume of literature pertaining to community college transfer students’ (TSs) experiences of transitioning from community colleges to universities
Two main categories and their sub-categories were identified in our analysis: (1) assets of the “2+2” pathway: TSs’ prior learning in community college, instrumental learning approaches, and valuing of the second chance for TSs; and (2) challenges to learning under the “2+2” pathway: a hard-earned second chance, constrained by the government funding, and sympathetic but unable to help the TSs
This study focused on different factors contributing to the success of transfer students, such as academic performances, learning experiences and social involvement
Summary
There has been a growing volume of literature pertaining to community college transfer students’ (TSs) experiences of transitioning from community colleges to universities. The majority of existing studies focused on their learning experiences and outcomes, such as academic performances (Wang, 2009; Cheung et al, 2020a) and adjustment needs (Owens, 2010; Cheung et al, 2020b; Ching et al, 2021). These previous studies investigating the student transition experience have emphasized the important role of staff, departmental, and institutional support in the transition and learning experience, and the success of community college TSs (Zhang et al, 2018; Howerton et al, 2019). As pointed out by Landeen et al (2017), having a better understanding of this perspective could inspire a higher level of institutional and departmental policies to support and facilitate students’ transfer and transition experiences
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