Transfer Students Research Articles

Navigating Barriers to Success for Community College Science Students: A Review of Transfer Challenges

This paper examines the challenges community college students encounter when transferring to four-year higher-education institutions, focusing on the gap between their transfer aspirations and actual success. Despite the availability of substantial financial aid in higher education, transfer students continue to face numerous challenges that impede their integration and success at new institutions. These obstacles arise from a combination of institutional factors and individual student characteristics. Utilizing Pascarella’s model, this study underscores the importance of support programs in raising institutional awareness of the diverse challenges transfer students face and the necessity for tailored strategies to facilitate their successful transition and retention.

Transfer Students’ Perception of STEM Faculty Dispositions Towards Gender Impacts Confidence and Success in STEM Career Pathways

Transfer Students’ Perception of STEM Faculty Dispositions Towards Gender Impacts Confidence and Success in STEM Career Pathways

Addressing the need to facilitate undergraduate research experiences for community college transfer students in science.

Community college transfer students face numerous challenges, including gaining access to undergraduate research experiences. In this Perspectives piece, we articulate the benefits of undergraduate research experiences for community college transfer students, some of the common barriers for engaging transfer students in undergraduate research, and how 4-year institutions can address these problems through the development of transfer-specific programs. We specifically discuss the LEAP Scholars program, which we designed for low-income community college transfer students. The LEAP Scholars program helped students learn about undergraduate research through their participation in a science education course-based undergraduate research experience and facilitated student access to undergraduate research experiences in science faculty member research labs.

Playing it SMART: increasing transfer student and URM undergraduate student success through undergraduate research combined with group support

Increasing retention rates in STEM disciplines has been a primary goal among universities in recent years. Special attention has been given to increase STEM retention among underrepresented populations in those fields. However, one group of students that remains understudied but faces specific challenges is the transfer (TR) student population. TR students, and especially those who transfer from community colleges (CC-TR) in the US, often face academic and mental hurdles, loss of a sense of academic belonging, and adjustment challenges, sometime described as the “transfer shock.” Undergraduate research, an experience that has been shown to promote student success, is often not pursued by STEM TR students due to a heavy load in their new 4-year university. We hypothesized that combining summer undergraduate research in STEM labs with intense group activities that focused on group support, development of research-related skills, and promotion of a sense of belonging, would increase rates of research participation after the summer among transfer students. Moreover, we hypothesized that such an intervention would promote student retention and academic success. Our research demonstrates that this intervention, through a summer program in an R1 university, served as a validating experience that increased participation in STEM research after the program, provided the students with academic skills, and improved graduation and STEM retention of TR and URM students. We believe that this intervention may serve as a model to promote student success among transfer and URM students.

Latina/o Transfer Students: Using Their Community Cultural Wealth to Negotiate the Pre-Transfer Process

Objective: The purpose of this study is to highlight the type of community cultural wealth developed and used by Latina/o community college transfer students who encountered limited pre-transfer assistance and unreceptive cultures at their transfer institutions. Method: This study took place at Southwest State University (SSU), a Predominantly White Institution (PWI) in Texas. This study focuses on semi-structured interviews with 10 Latina/o community college transfer students who transferred to SSU. Data were analyzed using a thematic approach combined with the theoretical frameworks of the receptive transfer culture and the community cultural wealth model. Results: Students shared how they developed and used their aspirational, familial, navigational, resistant, and social capitals to gain the knowledge, skills, and contacts to make up for the lack of transfer information and resources needed to transfer to their 4-year university. Conclusion: Based on the study’s findings, this study calls for 4-year institutions to enhance or develop their pre-transfer receptive culture for Latinx students. Specifically, transfer policies, programming, and practices should be developed with Latinx students in mind in order to ensure increased completion rates for Latinx community college students who transfer.

413 Evaluation of utilizing personal development tools in collegiate science curriculum to enhance soft skill development

Abstract This study examines the integration of CliftonStrengths, within the Department of Animal Science at Iowa State University. In previous semesters, CliftonStrengths was introduced to freshmen, but no further application of the assessment took place. Fall 2023 incoming students completed more intensive application following completion of the assessment. The objective of this study aims to determine if students’ soft skills are enhanced through awareness and application of their own strengths. This study surveyed new and current students, analyzing their perceptions towards CliftonStrengths and their experiences in group settings. Three surveys were administered at different time points during the fall 2023 semester, one current student survey (CSS) at the start of the semester, and two new student surveys for the beginning (pre-NSS) and end (post-NSS) of the semester. Surveys captured demographic data and responses on a 0 to 10 scale. Response rates were 42% from pre-NSS, 22% CSS, and 24% from post-NSS. The pre-NSS and CSS contained 46 and 37 first-generation students, respectively. The pre-NSS consisted of 120 freshmen and 17 transfer students, and the CSS consisted of 43 sophomores, 44 juniors, and 59 seniors. Survey questions were structured around the primary domains within CliftonStrengths; strategic thinking, relationship building, influencing, and executing. Analysis of the pre-NSS responses showed 61% of new students were not familiar with CliftonStrengths and 78% have not taken the assessment. The CSS showed that 66% of current students have taken the CliftonStrengths Assessment. New students that completed intensive application of CliftonStrengths reported a 2.8-point increase from pre-NSS (4.9 ± 2.96) to post-NSS (7.7 ± 2.51) in response to identifying the value of CliftonStrengths in everyday life. New students reported being more comfortable with strengths at the conclusion of this semester with an average response of 9 ± 1.4 on a 10-point scale. The responses to “I believe someone in my career path should know their strengths” had higher average response rates from post-NSS (7.7 ± 0.26) compared with CSS (6.9 ± 0.20). Student responses to “I believe knowing my Strengths helps me at my best” also had higher average response rates from post-NSS (8.3 ± 0.24) compared with CSS (7.4 ± 0.18). Students responded to “I feel confident that I can recognize strengths in others” with higher response rates in the post-NSS (7.1 ± 0.30) compared with CSS (6.1 ± 0.18). All questions asking about the ability to identify domain types of other individuals were higher in post-NSS responses compared with CSS. The post-NSS responses to understanding how to use different domains in a group were greater for strategic thinkers, relationship builders, and influencers. In conclusion, the intensive application of CliftonStrengths in the Department of Animal Science at Iowa State University has increased familiarity, confidence, and comfort with their strengths.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”: Examining Chicanx/Latinx transfer student intersectional microaggressions at a public four-year research-intensive university

ABSTRACT This study employed a Critical Race Theory’s intersectionality framework to examine microaggressions Chicanx/Latinx students experienced targeting their transfer student identity while simultaneously interrogating their racial, ethnic, class, and gender identities. The authors define transfer student intersectional microaggressions as microaggressions rooted in stereotypical beliefs that associate the community college transfer student identity with racialized, classed, gendered, and ageist-based assumptions to suggest lower academic abilities, socioeconomic status, and/or a questionable moral character. Based on a qualitative case study of 16 Chicanx/Latinx transfer students at a research-intensive public institution, two major forms of transfer student intersectional microaggressions emerged: (1) interrogation of perceived academic/intellectual capabilities and (2) interrogation related to race, class, gender, and/or age. Participants consistently grappled with the impact of microaggressions on their intersecting identities. This study revealed that the transfer student identity amplifies intersectional oppression for Chicanx/Latinx students. The authors offer policy and practice recommendations.

Examining the Effects of Peer-Led Team Learning as a Support for Community College Transfer Students’ STEM Achievement

Peer-led Team Learning (PLTL) is a model of instruction and learning that has been used to address low success rates in various science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses and other fields in higher education. (1) While research conveying the efficacy of this model of instruction remains mixed, this project sought to add to the body of knowledge communicating the benefits of PLTL for STEM achievement. This study examined the experiences of STEM community college transfer students’ engagement in PLTL within their major course of study when a suite of supports was provided. (2) Specifically, study participants were enrolled in degree programs at a four-year rural, regional university in the engineering, computer science, and mathematics (ECSM) fields and were provided social, financial, and academic assistance. Qualitative analysis of the data revealed that with a PLTL component, community college transfer students were more likely to participate, engage, and perform better in coursework given the additional supports. (3) Study participants indicated the community of learners created through PLTL was a primary motivator for continued engagement and progress towards ECSM degree attainment. (4) Implications for practice extend to engagement and retention efforts of STEM students from the community college population

The Powerful Impact of Positive and Negative Interactions with STEM Faculty on Undergraduates, Especially Underrepresented and Transfer Students

Despite clear links to improving college outcomes, descriptive details about the kinds of student-faculty interactions that are most helpful for STEM students are less well understood. In this qualitative interview study, we investigate what micro-interactions are most helpful – and consequential – for STEM students’ persistence and success, especially transfer students. We found that students who experienced positive, caring interactions with at least one faculty member in their major tended to feel more connected to their discipline, had greater confidence in their abilities in STEM, and often put forth more effort in their studies. Transfer students were especially impacted by the quality of care they received from faculty; those who had negative experiences with faculty were often left feeling less capable and discouraged to continue in their STEM discipline. STEM faculty should show interest in students’ learning and long-term academic and career goals and provide sufficient availability for one-on-one help.

How Community College Educations Generate Both Science Capital and Science-Specific Transfer Capital Among Low-Income White Women Majoring in STEM

ABSTRACT Given current enrollment patterns that feature a predominance of women, community college enrollment may offer potential for increasing gender diversity in STEM fields if students transfer successfully to four-year institutions. While many do not transfer, those who do can increase their stocks of science capital while enrolled at community college. This project follows pathways of some of the low-income students who successfully complete transfers to four-year institutions, focusing on interviews with White women. While not positive in every aspect, community college enrollment offered these low-income interviewees time to build science-related social and cultural capital that then helped them to succeed in transferring to four-year universities and to support them in STEM fields they perceived as being male-dominated. All the students came from households with low levels of science capital and had not strongly considered majoring in STEM prior to enrolling in community college. Interviewees describe their time at community colleges as critical in allowing them to explore STEM fields, construct positive relationships with STEM instructors, improve their time management skills, and increase their STEM self-confidence. These increased stores of science capital were not sufficient to keep all the transfer students majoring in STEM fields but did support the educational trajectories of all transfer students. Thus, community college enrollment can give students time to incubate both science capital and science-related transfer capital, the latter being especially useful for low-income White women in STEM.

Building Research Communities for Life Science Transfer Students: Improving Retention and Student Outcomes

Building Research Communities for Life Science Transfer Students: Improving Retention and Student Outcomes

Transfer Students’ Perceptions of Science and Engineering Internships

Transfer Students’ Perceptions of Science and Engineering Internships

“To Make this Leap”: Understanding Relationships that Support Community College Students’ Transfer Journeys

For too many community college students, transferring to a four-year institution for a bachelor’s degree (i.e., vertical transfer) remains an unrealized aspiration. Prior research suggests that forms of capital can assist students in realizing their goals. Therefore, we sought to explore how relationships both within and outside of their institutions serve as sources of capital to support students’ vertical transfer journeys. Utilizing a qualitative research design, we applied Putnam’s (2000) two forms of social capital (bridging and bonding) and eight social support-related constructs from Moser’s (2013) expanded transfer student capital framework to data from focus groups and interviews with 33 pre- and post-transfer students. We found that participants actively constructed a patchwork of supportive relationships with both institutional agents and individuals external to the institution, which they utilized to search for, gather, and employ transfer capital. Our findings highlight that relationships outside of institutions are as crucial as relationships within the institution as sources of capital for vertical transfer students, suggesting a need to incorporate extra-institutional relationships into transfer capital frameworks and institutional initiatives to support transfer students. We also recommend institutions invest in programs designed to build students’ social and transfer capital.

대학 비교과 교육과정 질 관리를 위한 환류 핵심이슈 도출

Objectives The purpose of this study is to derive key issues related to feedback in the extracurricular curriculum at the university level and suggest directions for system improvements. Methods Therefore, the literature review for this study encompassed 117 academic journal articles published in South Korea during the last decade (2014-2023). Details of each Introduction and Conclusion were extracted, keywords were refined, and the main keywords were identified through TF or TF-IDF. Additionally, a semantic network analysis was conducted to determine connections between keywords. A CONCOR analysis was performed to clarify associations between cooccurring keywords. The results were also visualized. Results First, the top 10 most frequent feedback-related core keywords in non-credit extracurricular programs follow: writing, learning community, core competencies, academic achievement,tutoring, university life, online, self-directed learning, thinking skills, and collaboration. Second, the top five keywords with high degree centrality in the semantic network analysis were learning community-academic achievement-university life-tutoring-collaboration. The top five keywords with closeness centrality were collaboration-creativity-problem solving-career-learning community. The top five keywords with eigenvector centrality were learning community-academic achievement-collaboration-self-directed learning-tutoring. The top five keywords with betweenness centrality were collaboration-creativity-problem-solving-career-learning community. Third, as a result of the CONCOR analysis of the main keywords, the following four clusters were found: demand and performance management, system improvement, content and method improvement, and response to environmental change. Conclusions Based on these findings, the following measures are emphasized: (1) the higher effectiveness of IR related to non-credit extracurricular programs, (2) the preparation of strategies to identify and support prospective transfer students, (3) the examination of management systems to improve the operation of non-credit extracurricular programs, and (4) efforts to ensure the continuity and consistency of policies.

Do Transfers into the Community College Sector Graduate at the Same Rate? Evidence from Ontario, Canada

ABSTRACT The overwhelming majority of studies on transfer students have compared the outcomes of vertical transfer students (college-to-university) relative to “native” counterparts, referring to those that directly enter universities from high school and remain within them throughout the course of their studies. In turn, scholars have devoted only minimal attention to the outcomes of students that travel variable pathways into the community college sector (e.g. university to college). Through this study we attempt to correct such imbalance in the existing literature, leveraging various administrative files in Statistics Canada’s Education and Labour Market Linkage Platform (ELMLP) to analyze the pathway-based disparities in graduation rates among those students traveling various routes into the Ontario community college sector. Our logistic regression models reveal that students who transfer into the community college graduate at a rate that is 22 to 27% points lower than direct entries, and that these differences persist even after we control for student traits (e.g. age, sex), field of study, parental income, and familial characteristics (e.g. size, structure). Based on the observed findings, we theorize plausible mechanisms that could be suppressing the success of transfers into the community college sector and identify a series of potential strategies to ameliorate this situation.

Assessing the communicative experience of student orientation leaders: peer and professional

ABSTRACT The value of student peer leadership is consistent with trends in higher education. While extensive research reveals how student peer leaders benefit the overall student experience and contribute to institutional recruitment and retention, little research has considered the communicative experiences of student orientation leaders. This study focuses on the unique communicative experiences and challenges student orientation leaders encounter in their role as students and university ambassadors. Student orientation leaders function as both student leaders and university professionals; they serve as liaisons among incoming university students, parents and families, and the academic institution. This multifaceted role management creates a unique experience for student orientation leaders distinct from other paraprofessionals. Our study focuses on the perceptions of communicative experiences and the uncertainties experienced by student orientation leaders from a midsize southern university. Guided by the uncertainty management theory, the study findings reveal that student peer leaders primarily focused their communicative efforts on developing and managing relationships with fellow students; peer leaders experienced uncertainties when communicating with different groups (e.g., first-year students, transfer students, and family members) who have unique uncertainties and informational needs; finally, peer leaders developed confidence and leadership skills from the communicative interactions they experienced from serving as peer leaders on campus.

Through their eyes: Understanding institutional factors that impact the transfer processes of Black engineering students

AbstractBackgroundThe potential for broadening participation in engineering among Black undergraduates via transfer pathways is considerable, given their large share of the community college population. By understanding the opportunities and challenges presented within the context of transfer, this potential can be realized.Purpose/hypothesisThe goal of this study is to explore ways in which Black students who transitioned from a community college to a 4‐year engineering program describe the institutional factors affecting their transfer processes.Design/methodDrawing from a 3‐year qualitative research study involving approximately 27 Black engineering transfer students at a large, predominantly White, institution, we present data derived through interviews and focus groups with these undergraduates.ResultsParticipants expressed that they benefited from supportive institutional agents who offered engineering transfer‐related resources. These included both faculty and advisors in their mostly Minority Serving Community Colleges (MSCCs) as well as advisors from the engineering college at the 4‐year institution. In addition, respondents described being part of a number of community college programs, including some for Black collegians, that offered resources for transfer. Nonetheless, some participants shared problems that emerged during the transfer process, including having to self‐navigate confusing transfer websites or self‐advocate to resolve erroneous admissions decisions.ConclusionsWe suggest a need to elevate MSCCs as learning environments that can produce future Black engineers. We also recommend a systems‐level approach that brings together community colleges and 4‐year institutions while also accounting for issues related to resources as well as power dynamics that students may encounter.

20대 청년의 전문대학 재입학 결정 과정에 대한 질적 연구: 진로구성이론을 기반으로

This study examined the context and career developmental significance of the re-entrance decision process, focusing on how individuals in their 20s decide to re-enter junior college. The participants were five 20s reverse transfer students in junior college, who had either graduated from or withdrawn from four-year universities. According to the analysis, the re-entrance decision was composed of ‘the process of making sure of career transition’ and ‘the process of constructing the meaning of re-entrance.’ The process of deciding to re-enter a junior college for 20s is a career development process that demonstrates the autonomous decision-making and meaning formation regarding the own career path. They constructed their own career meaning, overcame career barrier and specified their career goal through experiences relevant to work. The findings of this study expand the understanding about re-entrance decision-making process and career development of individuals in their 20s, and provide practical implications for career education at the higher education level.

Transfer Stigma: Development of a Multi–Dimensional Scale for Community College Transfer Students

ABSTRACT Transfer stigma refers to a type of stigma associated with students’ transfer status and/or their community college background. It plays a significant role in post-transfer adjustment and may negatively impact post-transfer outcomes such as retention and obtaining a baccalaureate degree. This study focused on quantitatively measuring transfer stigma among transfer students attending a four-year institution. Drawing from previous studies, we developed a 13-item transfer stigma measure and included it in a transfer student survey. The survey data was collected from 450 current transfer students at a public, flagship four-year university in Louisiana. Through an exploratory factor analysis and a confirmatory factor analysis, we revealed a four-factor structure of transfer stigma measures: internalized self-stigma, perceptions about community colleges, lack of support, and perceived judgment. Subsequent statistical analyses examined group differences in the degree of transfer stigma across various transfer student subgroups defined by transfer type, gender, race/ethnicity, age, and major.

Community College Articulation Agreement Websites: Students’ Suggestions for New Academic Advising Software Features

ABSTRACT Articulation agreements provide more transparency about how community college courses will transfer and fulfill university requirements. However, the literature displays conflicting results on whether articulation agreements improve transfer-related outcomes; perhaps one contributor to these conflicting research results is the subpar user experience of articulation agreement reports and the websites that host them. Accordingly, we surveyed and interviewed California community college transfer students to gather their suggestions for new academic-advising-related software features for the ASSIST website. ASSIST is California’s official centralized repository of articulation agreement reports between public California community colleges and universities. We analyzed the open-ended survey and interview data using structural coding and thematic analysis. We identified four themes around students’ software feature suggestions for ASSIST: (a) features that automate laborious academic advising tasks, (b) features to reduce ambiguity with articulation agreements, (c) features to mitigate mistakes in term-by-term course planning, and (d) features to facilitate online advising from advisors and student peers.