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Given the prevalence of transfer activity, education stakeholders must understand how transfer may be associated with student outcomes. Such knowledge is critical, as the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn have impacted college enrollment and student transfer behavior. Relying on a sample of 6510 undergraduate students from BPS:12/17 data, we conducted analyses using multiple regression to examine the relationship between student transfer direction and two student outcomes: time to degree and cumulative loan debt. Further, we analyzed whether these relationships varied by income status, using adjusted gross income (AGI) as a proxy. We found that transferring from one postsecondary institution to another may extend time to degree by one academic semester and result in increased student loan debt, with these findings varying by income level.

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.

Since the launch of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS) in the late 1990s, a series of transfer-related policies have been implemented in the State of Louisiana. However, limited empirical studies have focused on transfer students' success in the Louisiana context. This study filled the research gap by examining influential factors of transfer students' GPAs in the receiving 4-year institutions. The author focused on the experiences of community college transfer students attending a research-intensive, public 4-year university in Louisiana. The author collected more than 1,000 transfer students' data from the registrar's office and utilized sequential regression analysis to identify statistically significant predictors of their post-transfer GPA. Results generated practical implications for higher education policy makers, student affairs professionals at both 4-year and 2-year institutions, as well as researchers who are interested in further studying transfer student success.

PurposeThis study aims to explore the opportunities and constraints for learner identity formation among community college transfer students.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from four in-depth interviews with five transfer students across an academic year (i.e. 20 interviews in total). The first interview allowed the current researcher to explore the context of students' community college experiences and their first semester in the university. The second and third interview had two purposes: (1) to provide an opportunity for students to discuss their second semester experiences and (2) to understand the process of learner identity formation. The last interview allowed the students to reflect on their time in the university after studying for one year.FindingsThe findings reveal that higher education (HE) learner identity was nurtured by peer support, orientation activities and mentorship programme. While, striving for self-improvement and developing into an autonomous and active learner are essential in the formation of the HE learner identity in university.Originality/valueThis study represents the local students' voice that enrolling in community colleges with the goal of transferring to University Grant Committee (UGC)-funded universities. Transition is a process of change in the course of life and also a shift from one identity to another (Ecclestone et al., 2010). A smooth transition may contribute to the formation of positive learner identity, which is essential to student retention and persistence.

It is well established that students who begin post-secondary education at a community college are less likely to earn a bachelor's degree than otherwise similar undergraduates who begin at a 4-year school, but there is less consensus over the mechanisms generating this disparity. We explore these using national longitudinal transcript data and propensity-score methods. Inferior academic preparation does not seem to be the main culprit: We find few differences between students' academic progress at each type of institution during the first 2 years of college and (contrary to some earlier scholarship) students who do transfer have BA graduation rates equal to similar students who begin at 4-year colleges. However, after 2 years, credit accumulation diverges in the two kinds of institutions, due in part to community college students' greater involvement in employment, and a higher likelihood of stopping out of college, after controlling for their academic performance. Contrary to some earlier claims, we find that a vocational emphasis in community college is not a major factor behind the disparity. One important mechanism is the widespread loss of credits that occurs after undergraduates transfer from a community college to a 4-year institution; the greater the loss, the lower the chances of completing a BA. However, earlier claims that community college students receive lower aid levels after transfer and that transfers disproportionately fail to survive through the senior year are not supported by our analyses.

Despite the long-standing centrality and growing prevalence of transfer in the American postsecondary system, students, college professionals, and policymakers decry the lack of credit transferability between colleges. However, limited research has examined the factors most related to the magnitude of credit loss students experience. This study investigated how students' pre-transfer academic characteristics, demographic characteristics, and the institutions they transferred to and from influenced the magnitude of credit loss they experienced. Data is drawn from statewide cohorts of vertical transfer students in two states: Hawaii and North Carolina. Although a number of demographic and pre-transfer academic factors were found to relate to credit loss, the predictors of credit loss varied appreciably across states. Given the significant variability in how states and postsecondary systems manage transfer and articulation, the findings point to the need for additional state-level research exploring the determinants of credit loss for transfer students.

Purpose: This article examines the literature on the transfer function in American higher education, and it reviews three primary dimensions of transfer: (a) the transfer function and pathways, (b) transfer access and experiences, and (c) state transfer policy. Argument: This literature review engages core transfer concepts and we argue that the literature is dominated by the vertical transfer pathway, despite multiple transfer pathways and definitions. The research also suggests that students’ transfer experiences and outcomes are not equal, institutional cultures and policies are not designed to support diverse students, and the inadequate transfer structures and policies need to be reformed to improve transfer outcomes for students of color, low-income students, and first-generation students. Finally, we argue that the nature and distribution of state transfer policies is uneven and the impact of state transfer policies on student outcomes is mixed, so we know little about their efficacy. Conclusion: We conclude the article with a set of priorities for future transfer research that address gaps and limitations of the existing literature.

This study examined the demographic, pre-college, environmental, and college factors that impact students' interests in and decisions to earn a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) degree among students attending a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). Results indicated that Hispanic students were well represented among STEM majors, and students' decisions to declare a STEM major and earn a STEM degree were uniquely influenced by students' gender, ethnicity, SAT math score, and high school percentile. Earning a STEM degree was related to students' first-semester GPA and enrollment in mathematics and science \"gatekeeper\" courses. Findings indicate that HSIs may be an important point of access for students in STEM fields and may also provide opportunity for more equitable outcomes for Hispanic students.

There are currently too few computer science faculty to meet student demand, and faculty from historically minoritized groups are severely underrepresented. Expanding pathways from community colleges to PhDs is one critical avenue to both grow and diversify the computer science professoriate that has been underexplored. To gain insight into these pathways, this phenomenological study utilizes interviews with community college transfer students in computer science to examine how they conceptualize PhD study as part of their academic trajectories. Findings highlight experiences (e.g., serving as a tutor) that promote early interest in PhDs among this diverse and talented group of students.

Despite a robust body of literature about the choice of students’ first postsecondary institution, we have little insight regarding transfer from four-year colleges and universities across socioeconomic groups. In this study, we argue that when entry to selective colleges reaches a heightened level of competitiveness, transfer may be employed by students from advantaged social backgrounds as an adaptive strategy to gain access. Using multinomial logistic regression, this study draws on data from BPS:04/09 to uncover whether transfer functions as a mechanism of adaptation that exacerbates class inequalities in higher education. We found that students from higher-socioeconomic quartiles who first enrolled in a selective institution are most likely to engage in lateral transfer, but mainly to another college even more prestigious. This study provides evidence of the role of college transfer in exacerbating class inequalities in higher education.