College Transfer Research Articles

“Lost in the Shuffle”: How Relationships and Personalized Advisement Shape Transfer Aspirations and Outcomes for Community College Students

Objective: Few community college students who aspire to transfer ever do so. Prior research suggests that relationships with advisors, faculty, and administrators may play an important role in promoting successful transfer outcomes, particularly for traditionally underserved students. This study examines how students identified and weighed possible transfer destination colleges, and how dedicated and personalized advisement shaped students’ transfer plans and contributed to their transfer outcomes. Method: This mixed-methods study uses interviews to explore students’ transfer planning processes, as well as student record data to examine transfer outcomes. Analyses compare students who received personalized transfer advising through a community college honors program and similarly qualified transfer-aspiring peers attending the same six community colleges who received “business as usual” advising. Results: Findings suggest that personalized advisement and relationships with transfer advisors contributed to higher rates of transfer and may support transfer to more-selective destinations. Contributions: This research extends the literature on community college transfer by tracing students’ planning processes, exploring factors that raise or lower transfer aspirations, and estimating the effects of an advising-intensive honors program on students’ transfer outcomes, including the selectivity of their transfer destinations. We also offer more empirical support for the importance of personal relationships and transfer agents in facilitating successful transfer outcomes.

Community college penalty in employment outcomes: comparing post-baccalaureate salaries between community college transfers and four-year direct attendees

Community college penalty in employment outcomes: comparing post-baccalaureate salaries between community college transfers and four-year direct attendees

Predictors and Consequences of Math Course Repetition: The Role of Horizontal and Vertical Repetition in Success Among Community College Transfer Students.

Delays in meeting math requirements can impede the progress among community college students who aspire to earn a baccalaureate degree. To investigate this issue, we used state administrative data from Texas to examine the prevalence and predictors of math course repetition and how math course repetition predicts transfer students' outcomes. More than a third of community college transfer students take additional introductory mathematics coursework despite having fulfilled the requirement-a phenomenon we referred to as "horizontal repetition"-and one sixth of community college students take redundant coursework within a given mathematics course sequence, referred to as "vertical repetition." Using regression models controlling for student backgrounds, academic experiences, and institutional fixed effects, we found that horizontal repetition was linked to lower GPA and, among degree recipients, increased time to degree and excess credits. Vertical repetition was negatively associated with GPA and degree completion and positively linked to increased time to degree and excess credits. Location of course repetition shaped student outcomes, where math course repetitions occurring at the university appear to drive many of the negative associations between both horizontal and vertical repetition and student outcomes. As community colleges and universities across the country consider the efficacy of course sequences and transfer pathways, our research offers insights into patterns and implications of course repetition in core math courses.

From the Coeditors

From the Coeditors

Agents of Support for Community College Transfer Students: A Qualitative Study

This qualitative study explored what support community college transfer students relied upon while transitioning to a 4-year university. Investigators examined experiences of 12 full-time degree-seeking students who previously attended a community college. Data included a series of three individual interviews with participants and reflective journals completed by six participants. Two primary agents of support were identified: academic advising and personal support. Participants emphasized active and implied support needs, types, and functions throughout the entire process. By understanding community college transfer students' needs, institutions (agent networks of support) can equip advisors and institutional staff (agents) with the information and resources (functions) that will assist students with a positive transition. We offer implications for advising training and opportunities for collaborative institutional partnerships.

“That Was the Biggest Help”: The Importance of Familial Support for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Community College Students

This study reveals the informal instrumental and socio-emotional support that non-traditional (e.g., Latinx, Black, Indigenous, and first-generation), low-income community college students pursuing STEM majors receive from family members that combat experiences of marginalization and contribute toward their self-efficacy. Family support can be particularly important for underrepresented undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) students who are at higher risks of dropping out of their program and experience lower levels of success indicators (e.g., sense of belonging, self-concept, and STEM identity) compared to their white and Asian peers. Utilizing a phenomenological approach, we used open-ended questions during focus groups with community college transfer students to gain their experiences with challenges and feelings of belonging in college and STEM. We apply the funds of knowledge framework to investigate the value family support holds for students in navigating STEM challenges and expand the definition of family to include romantic partners and extended family.

How to inform college students about meningitis B vaccine? Comparative effectiveness of an online theory-based text and video intervention

Objective The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of text and video formats of an online theory-based Meningitis B (MenB) health message intervention on college students. Participants: College freshmen and transfer students admitted at a Southern U.S. University. Methods: In a 2-arm randomized study, knowledge, perceptions, and intention to receive the vaccine were compared pre- and post-intervention. Results: Post intervention, participants in both the written and video interventions had significantly higher scores of knowledge, perceptions, and intentions. Upon comparing the change in scores pre- to post-intervention between both text and video groups, no significant differences were found between both groups. Conclusions: This study, a first in using a theory-based MenB online education intervention and questionnaire to compare text and video formats, suggests that both text and video formats are equally effective in raising young adults’ awareness about the MenB vaccine.

Understanding the landscape of community college transfer in North Carolina

AbstractBeginning with the revision of the existing Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA) in 2014, North Carolina policymakers have implemented several articulation agreements that create structured pathways between two‐ and four‐year colleges. The purpose of this article is to detail the demographic makeup and post‐transfer outcomes of transfer students in North Carolina. This article will help policymakers and practitioners identify areas in which they can help facilitate successful transfer and eventual bachelor's degree attainment.

Engineering community college transfer pathways through pre‐transfer programs

AbstractCommunity college scholars and practitioners consistently seek ways to support vertical transfer from community colleges to four‐year institutions. An emerging practice to streamline coursework transfer is the use of tailored, intrusive pre‐transfer advising to increase information access for students still enrolled at the community college. In this article, we explore how one pre‐transfer program—the Virginia Tech Network for Engineering Transfer Students (VT‐NETS)—improved the transfer pathway in engineering through early integration programming and advising structures that help to streamline vertical transfer. Using a quasi‐experimental design, we compare the experience of transfer students who participated in VT‐NETS with transfer students that did not participate in the pre‐transfer program. Based on our findings, we make practical recommendations that may be useful to community colleges and university partners seeking to establish, improve, or scale up early‐integration programs for prospective transfer students.

University Staff's Perceptions of Community College Transfer Students' Transition Experiences Within a "2+2" Pathway in an Asian Educational Context.

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.

Predictors of University Adaptation and Grades for Direct Entry and Transfer Students

This study compared the differences between students entering university directly from high school vs. those transferring from other higher education institutions for the variables of the academic self-control model (general resourcefulness, academic resourcefulness, academic self-efficacy, preparedness, failure attributions, and university adaptation). The goals of the research were to test the following: (1) the full academic self-control model using a large sample of undergraduate students to predict university adaptation and final grades; (2) if the pathways of association implied by the model are equally predictive regardless of whether students are direct entry, university transfer, or college transfer; and (3) if the means of the variables differed among these three groups. Results replicated previous studies showing that, for the entire sample, general resourcefulness, preparedness, explanatory style for failure, and academic self-efficacy were strongly predictive of academic resourcefulness, which, in turn, was strongly associated with university adaptation and grade. Moreover, the indirect and direct pathways of the model were found to be equivalent for the three student groups. Comparisons of the groups’ means for the psychological variables revealed the university transfer group to have the most favourable scores followed by the college transfer group. The findings suggest that both college and university transfer students bring valuable skills to undergraduate programs and the keys to their university adaptation and academic achievement are the same as for direct entry students.

Getting to the Core of Credit Transfer: How Do Pre-Transfer Core Credits Predict Baccalaureate Attainment for Community College Transfer Students?

The majority of community college entrants aspire to earn a bachelor’s degree; yet fewer than a third do. States use several strategies to support community college’s transfer function, including a transferrable core curriculum, a block of pre-major coursework universally accepted at public postsecondary institutions. In this study, we used statewide administrative data from Texas—a state with a transferable core—to examine pre-transfer credit accumulation and how pre-transfer core credits predict bachelor’s degree attainment and time to degree for community college transfer students. Our results illuminate high variation in pre-transfer core credit accumulation among community college transfer students. Each additional pre-transfer core credit improves students’ probability of earning a bachelor’s degree, but only up to core completion status. Soon after students are core complete—at which point universities are no longer required to transfer in additional core credits, students experience a negative relationship between core credits and bachelor’s degree attainment.

Transfer Capital or Transfer Deficit: A Dual Perspective of English Learning of ESL College Transfer Students

This research addressed a research gap in scrutinizing the language problems of English as a second language (ESL) transfer students (TSs) with regard to the aspects of “transfer deficit” and “transfer capital”, instead of simply labelling the use of English as a “transfer deficit”. One hundred and twenty-four TSs participated in this qualitative study. From qualitative content analysis, three main categories were identified: (a) English competence as transfer capital; (b) English competence as transfer deficit; and (c) transition from deficit to capital. Based on the results, educational practitioners are advised to pay attention to the specific implications of proficiency-based courses, with support measures not limited to essay-writing or referencing skills, but including advanced research writing genres such as the Capstone Project.

Prototype Development of a Cross-Institutional Credit Transfer Information System for Community College Transfer Students

Credit transfer information systems in higher education are not well studied. This article demonstrates the prototype development of a cross-institutional credit transfer information system (CICIS) for community college transfer (i.e., vertical transfer) students in an Asian educational context. It exhibits credit transfer guidelines and past credit transfer records to enhance the transparency and sustainability of credit transfer information and to facilitate the transfer process of prospective community college transfer students. It also ensures the sustainability of credit transfer information and its application. The four-phase life cycle of the prototyping model was adopted to guide the study. In this paper, we report the first three phases of this development: (1) Users’ needs assessment and pre-prototyping groundwork, (2) prototype development, and (3) unforeseen circumstances and expert review. Challenges and difficulties throughout the whole process are documented and discussed. Based on this prototype development experience, a solid foundation of strategies for future engineering and enhancement of credit transfer information systems can be developed.

Bridges or Barriers? How Interactions between Individuals and Institutions Condition Community College Transfer

ABSTRACT Institutional practices and conditions at community colleges can improve rates of transfer, as can access to transfer student capital. However, we know little about how institutions attempt to build students’ transfer capital, or about students’ experiences within community colleges as they accumulate transfer capital. In this paper, we examine how students’ institutional experiences, particularly their engagement with student supports at community colleges and transfer destinations, influence their understanding of, and ability to navigate, the transfer process. We view the accumulation of transfer student capital as an interactionist model between the students and their institution, where students’ transfer knowledge and success is conditioned by an interaction between their background and institutional conditions. We draw on longitudinal qualitative interview data with transfer-intending community college students over the course of 3 years to understand how students access, receive, and accumulate transfer capital as they work toward their educational goals. By leveraging student experiences, our study can inform community colleges and transfer destinations about practices and policies interpreted as most effective from the perspective of students. Our work also connects to broader conversations about how institutions reproduce, ameliorate, or exacerbate inequalities based on student background.

Improving learning experiences for community college transfer hospitality and tourism students

ABSTRACT Previous studies have addressed the topic of community college transfer students, but very few have examined students’ learning experiences after their transfer to a university, and none have focused on the hospitality and tourism discipline. This study aimed to understand community college transfer students’ expectations of hospitality or tourism undergraduate degree programmes and assess any differences between teachers’ and students’ views of these students’ learning experiences. A qualitative study was conducted with teachers and students, using semi-structured interviews and focus group interviews. The study revealed that the students encounter challenges such as campus and faculty environments, gaps in their expectations, heavy study loads, teaching methods, assessment of subjects, and social and affective development. The findings also showed that the feeling of inferiority could drive some students to strive hard to achieve their academic goals. Several strategies to improve students’ learning experiences are recommended.

STEM Persisters, Switchers, and Leavers: Factors Associated with 6-Year Degree Attainment for STEM Aspiring Community College Transfer Students

ABSTRACT Focusing on community college transfer students who declared a STEM major at their initial transfer to a four-year research university, this study examined the extent to which students’ sociodemographic characteristics and academic factors were related to STEM persistence and attrition. This study tracked multiple cohorts of transfer students matriculated at the four-year university between fall 2007 and fall 2014, and used data drawn from their transcript records. The findings indicated that STEM switchers, who obtained a non-STEM degree within six years of their initial transfer, were more likely to be older learners, female, and of non-Asian race/ethnicity than STEM persisters, who earned a STEM degree within six years. STEM Leavers, who did not earn any degree within six years, were more likely to be older, non-Asian, first-generation, and had a low or middle family income than STEM persisters. The study also found that STEM switchers and leavers were more likely to transfer over a lower number of courses, attempted fewer courses in the first semester, withdrew one or more courses, and received a lower semester GPA. In terms of mathematics preparation, STEM switchers and leavers were less likely to complete Calculus I or more advanced courses. The study contributes to the literature on STEM persistence and attrition, especially for STEM aspirants who transferred from community colleges to four-year universities. The findings also provide new knowledge about STEM attrition by comparing students who departed from STEM with or without earning a non-STEM degree.

Latino Men and Masculinities: A Multi-Institution Study of Community College Transfer Experiences

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate how Latino men’s conceptions of masculinities influenced their attitudes and behaviors during the transition from community colleges to 4-year institutions. Method: A phenomenological approach was used to explore the lived experiences of 34 Latino men across Texas, California, and Florida. Each participant was interviewed twice; all data were recorded, transcribed, and coded for themes. Results: Findings suggest that, although prior conceptions of masculinities can sometimes provide positive tools during transfer, these conceptions also cause challenges as men negotiate incongruences between their masculine identity and what is required to succeed in college. Participation in on-campus men’s groups and student organizations can help Latino students navigate these incongruences and negotiate their own intersectional identities and conceptualizations of masculinities in light of their new environment. Contributions: This study demonstrates that Latino men continue to face challenges related to masculinities and identity conflicts during the community college to 4-year institution transfer process. Future research might further investigate how the multiple, intersecting identities of Latino men (e.g., sexuality, class) influence masculinities and transfer experiences. Implications for practice include a recommendation that institutions consider creating on-campus spaces and learning environments to support men in navigating masculinities.

A Tale of Community College Transfer Pathway: US-ELs’ Trajectories toward Healthcare Programs

ABSTRACT U.S.-educated English learners (US-ELs) who aspire to obtain a bachelor’s degree are often guided by their high school counselors to attend community colleges first, and are assured that they can always transfer to a university later. However, the literature on US-ELs’ community college transfer is virtually nonexistent. This 13-month multiple-case study documented the transfer trajectories of four US-ELs who intended to enroll in healthcare programs at a community college first and then transfer to a university. Findings showed that all four students fell short of their original transfer aspirations. Five major factors were identified to account for the differences between students’ original plans and actual trajectories, including 1) inadequate high school preparation in science, 2) late enrollment and poor performance in their first program-related courses, 3) linguistic insecurity, 4) underdeveloped knowledge of their intended programs and transfer process, and 5) underuse of advising services. The findings indicate that the community college transfer pathway does not guarantee transfer for US-ELs.

A Qualitative Exploration on the Challenges of Transfer Students in an Asian Educational Context.

Limited research has been conducted on community college (CC) transfer students’ (TS) experiences in four-year universities, particularly in Asian contexts. To fill this research gap, in this qualitative study, 124 TS from various disciplines in a Hong Kong university participated in 39 focus groups and seven individual interviews. Unlike their Western counterparts, our TS were relatively better prepared and more academically adaptive. Nevertheless, their social integration was restricted by a lack of time for extra-curricular activities, a sense of inferiority and incompetence, and restricted social circles that did not enable interaction with non-TS. These challenges and their implications are discussed. In particular, this study has highlighted differences between the special education systems for CC transfer in Hong Kong and those in Western CC models. The study has also highlighted the study-induced stress, and poor self-perceptions that TS experience, despite their academic abilities.