Takes Two to Tango: Essential Practices of Highly Effective Transfer Partnerships

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe practices of 2- and 4-year institutional partnerships effective in supporting transfer student success. Method: Using student records from the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) for the entire 2007 fall cohort of first-time-in-college community college students nationwide, researchers identified partnerships of 2- and 4-year institutions that were more effective than expected (controlling for student and institutional characteristics) in enabling community college entrants to transfer to a 4-year institution and earn a bachelor’s degree. Based on this methodology, and in partnership with the Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program, researchers visited six pairs of 2- and 4-year college transfer partnerships identified as high performers, interviewing more than 350 faculty, student-facing and senior-level staff, and transfer students. Results: From these in-depth interviews, researchers identified a set of essential transfer practices common among these highly effective institutional partnerships. The practices were grouped under three broad strategies: (a) make transfer a priority, (b) create clear programmatic pathways with aligned high-quality instruction, and (c) provide tailored transfer advising. Contributions: This study offers a set of essential transfer practices culled from national fieldwork to 2- and 4-year institutional transfer partnerships identified using NSC data as highly effective in supporting transfer student success.

Download Full-text

Facilitating Transfer Student Success: Exploring Sources of Transfer Student Capital

Community College Review ◽

10.1177/0091552119876017 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 48 (1) ◽

pp. 31-54 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Casey Maliszewski Lukszo ◽

Shannon Hayes

Keyword(s):

Community College ◽

High Schools ◽

Transfer Students ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Critical Role ◽

Transfer Student ◽

Community College Transfer ◽

College Transfer ◽

Community College Transfer Students ◽

Descriptive Case Study

Objective: This study seeks to expand understanding of transfer student capital (TSC), including sources of TSC and how TSC is used by community college transfer students to navigate transfer to a public, 4-year institution. Method: Using the TSC framework, a descriptive case study design was employed. Data sources include 17 transfer student interviews, eight observations of pre-transfer meetings between students and advisors, and a review of documents. Data were analyzed inductively and deductively using a pattern matching coding technique. Results: Family and peers appear to be the most common way that students gain TSC to navigate the transfer process. High schools also provide critical transfer information to students. Transfer advisors and faculty either at community colleges or 4-year colleges sometimes provide important transfer information but serve in a critical role of building students’ self-efficacy for transfer rather than merely passing along transfer information. Contributions: This study indicates that high schools, family members, and peers are influential sources of TSC, in addition to previously well-understood sources, such as community college faculty and transfer advisors. This study introduces a new term, self-efficacy for transfer, and offers an expanded TSC conceptual model.

Download Full-text

Collaboratively Clearing the Path to a Baccalaureate Degree: Identifying Effective 2- to 4-Year College Transfer Partnerships

Community College Review ◽

10.1177/0091552118772649 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 46 (3) ◽

pp. 231-256 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Di Xu ◽

Florence Xiaotao Ran ◽

John Fink ◽

Davis Jenkins ◽

Afet Dundar

Keyword(s):

Community College ◽

Community Colleges ◽

Academic Success ◽

Transfer Students ◽

Analytical Framework ◽

Institutional Performance ◽

College Transfer ◽

Residual Values ◽

The Individual ◽

Effective Transfer

Objective: This study develops an analytical framework for identifying effective partnerships between 2- and 4-year institutions that enable community college entrants to transfer to a 4-year institution and earn a bachelor’s degree in a timely fashion. Method: Using the individual term-by-term college enrollment and degree records from the National Student Clearinghouse for the entire 2007 fall cohort of first-time-in-college community college students nationwide, we use regressions to control for student and institutional characteristics in identifying effective partnerships in two steps: first, we identify community colleges with large residual values (better than expected outcomes); and second, we identify the 4-year partners of those community colleges with large residual values. Results: Descriptive results on the variation in transfer outcomes among the thousands of unique transfer partnerships nationally are presented alongside results from regressions used in the two-step effective transfer partnership identification. Contributions: Recommendations and considerations for using this framework to evaluate and benchmark institutional performance in supporting the academic success of vertical transfer students for baccalaureate attainment are also discussed.

Download Full-text

Focusing on the Forgotten

Examining the Impact of Community Colleges on the Global Workforce - Advances in Educational Marketing, Administration, and Leadership ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-8481-2.ch005 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 94-124

Author(s):

Stephanie M. Foote ◽

Jeannine Kranzow ◽

Sara E. Hinkle

Keyword(s):

Community College ◽

Transfer Students ◽

First Year ◽

Transfer Student ◽

Community College Transfer ◽

College Transfer ◽

First Year Students ◽

Student Transition ◽

Four Year Institutions ◽

First Time

Despite the increasing numbers of transfer students, particularly those transferring from two- to four-year institutions, campus programs and services continue to center on assisting first-year students who are entering higher education for the first time. This chapter brings transfer students, an often “forgotten” population, to light through the following: a review of the scholarship and research on community college transfer student transition and success, an examination of factors that affect that transition, and a description of innovative practices that respond to the need of this growing population. The information in this chapter can be used to develop campus programs and services to assist with the transfer student transition to four-year colleges and universities.

Download Full-text

The Value and Benefits of an Environmental Health Bachelor’s Degree Accredited by the National Environmental Health Science and Protection Accreditation Council for Community College Transfer Students

Pedagogy in Health Promotion ◽

10.1177/2373379915615886 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 78-82

Author(s):

Michael D. Fletcher ◽

Isoken Tito Aighewi ◽

Timothy James Murphy

Keyword(s):

Community College ◽

Environmental Health ◽

Transfer Students ◽

Bachelor's Degree ◽

Health Science ◽

Community College Transfer ◽

College Transfer ◽

Community College Transfer Students ◽

Environmental Health Science ◽

National Environmental

Download Full-text

The Community College Penalty? Examining the Bachelor’s Completion Rates of Community College Transfer Students as a Function of Time

Community College Review ◽

10.1177/0091552116674550 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 45 (1) ◽

pp. 3-32 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Eric Lichtenberger ◽

Cecile Dietrich

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Community College ◽

Community College Students ◽

Transfer Students ◽

Degree Completion ◽

Bachelor's Degree ◽

Community College Transfer ◽

College Transfer ◽

Community College Transfer Students ◽

College Transfer Students

Objective: Recent studies have shown that community college transfer students are just as likely to graduate with a bachelor’s degree as students who directly enroll in a 4-year institution. However, these studies do not typically examine whether there is a penalty for community college students in terms of the length of time it takes to complete a bachelor’s degree. In this study, we seek to determine whether there are differences between community college transfer students and direct 4-year college entrants regarding the likelihood of bachelor’s degree completion as a function of time. Method: Propensity score matching with a posttreatment adjustment was used to create observationally equivalent groups of community college transfer students and rising 4-year college juniors. Propensity scores were calculated using a multilevel model with students nested within high schools to account for pretreatment contextual differences. Descriptive survival analysis was applied to ascertain whether differences existed in the cumulative rate of bachelor’s degree completion throughout a 7-year tracking period. Results: Several significant prematch differences between the two groups—community college transfers and 4-year college juniors—were established. It was then demonstrated how the matching process created adequate balance between the two groups on all observed covariates. Although community college students experienced an initial penalty with respect to degree completion until 125% of normal time, the penalty was no longer evident 6 years after initial enrollment in college. Contributions: Given this finding, we discuss the need for policies that help community college transfer students achieve timely bachelor’s degree completion.

Download Full-text