Does Posttransfer Involvement Matter for Persistence of Community College Transfer Students?

Because of increasing mobility among various college student populations, both the baccalaureate degree attainment of community college beginners and the role played by their receiving 4-year institution are growing in importance. In this study, we examined how the academic and social involvement of community college transfer students differs by the type of receiving institution, and how strongly their posttransfer involvement is associated with persistence. Results indicated that academic and social involvement were higher for students who transferred to private not-for-profit doctoral institutions, as compared to those who transferred to other types of institutions. Also, among the involvement variables, academic advising is the factor that is most positively associated with the persistence of these students. Our findings make the case for a comprehensive examination of persistence of community college transfer students, looking at both their level of involvement and the type of institution they move to.     

Predictors of Timely Baccalaureate Attainment for Underrepresented Minority Community College Transfer Students

For many underrepresented minority students, the path to the baccalaureate degree begins with initial enrollment at a community college. Unfortunately, only a small percentage of students interested in transferring actually do transfer to a 4-year institution. Of these transfers, few graduate with a baccalaureate degree within 6 years of initial matriculation at their community college. This study was completed to see if the graduation rates for underrepresented minority community college transfer students vary depending on the type of receiving institution. In addition, an analysis was conducted to determine if the factors that best predict timely graduation for these transfers vary by ethnicity. Results from a suite of logistic regression models indicated that the factors that predict timely graduation for underrepresented minority transfers were not the same for each ethnicity. The most predictive factor for African-American transfers was enrollment in a 4-year transfer program at the community college. For Hispanic transfers, obtaining some type of credential before transferring was most predictive of timely graduating with a baccalaureate degree. On the other hand, the Grade Point Average (GPA) at the receiving 4-year institution was most predictive of timely graduation for Asian transfer students. The study was not able to conclusively determine the types of institutions that were the most successful graduating minority community college transfers.     

The Association Between a Community College’s Teacher Education Program and the 4-year Graduation Rates of Black and Hispanic Teacher Education Students

ABSTRACT

In response to a shortage of qualified Black and Hispanic teachers, community colleges (CC) have developed certificate programs and Associate of Arts degrees in teacher education to address shortages of minority teachers in the nation’s classrooms. We examined one CC’s effectiveness in transferring Black and Hispanic students to university teacher education programs and the association with Black and Hispanic students graduating with a bachelor’s degree. We compared enrollment and transfer student data for the 2003 community college teacher education program cohort to graduation data for native-to-university students of two 4-year universities. Data were analyzed using chi square and phi coefficients. The CC Black and Hispanic students graduated at the same rates as the native-to-university students and higher than their peers of the same races, regardless of major, who began at 2-year colleges at the national level. We encourage CC teacher education programs to invest resources to increase enrollment of Black and Hispanic students to address the growing need for minority teachers to serve in urban communities.     

Social Capital, Financial Knowledge, and Hispanic Student College Choices

Hispanic students are significantly over-represented in community colleges compared to White and Black students. This paper uses a powerful but underutilized statistical technique, the Oaxaca decomposition, to explore the impact of social capital, as manifested through college financial information, on Hispanic student enrollment in 4-year and 2-year programs. Background differences between the groups were found to have only a small effect on the gap in attending 4-year schools, while the effect of differential returns to these background characteristics was strong and significant. The analysis revealed that some variables of college financial information contribute significantly to the gap.     

Getting from Here to There: The Role of Geography in Community College Students’ Transfer Decisions

Community colleges have received renewed attention from policymakers seeking to increase college attendance and completion rates because they provide open access to postsecondary education for historically marginalized students. Yet, transfer rates from community colleges to 4-year institutions are low. Inequities in opportunity that are shaped by geography and compounded throughout childhood may restrict higher education opportunities for low-income, first-generation college students. Most studies examining how geography constrains college choice focus on high school students’ initial decisions about higher education, not community college students. We analyze the spatial distribution of community college students’ “choice sets,” the 4-year institutions that they are considering transferring to. Using qualitative interviews and geospatial analysis, we examine how these spatial patterns compare between two community-college systems in Central Texas. We find that students’ choice sets are geographically constrained, but that for many students, these zones are geographically large, suggesting that interventions and targeted outreach from universities could help students identify and select from greater range of options. Our findings have important implications for college access and completion among first-generation college students, and for policies that seek to interrupt patterns of inequity tied to location.     

Inarticulate Transfer: Do Community College Students Understand Articulation Agreements?

Only 25% of community college students transfer to a 4-year institution within 5 years, and only 17% earn a bachelor’s degree within 6 years of transferring (Jenkins &; Fink, 2015). In response, community colleges have partnered with 4-year institutions to draft articulation agreements, outlining transfer policies and procedures for specific academic programs (Montague, 2012). However, no extant research has examined whether these articulation agreements are readable by community college students. This study examines 100 articulation agreements between 2- and 4-year institutions to answer the question: do community college students understand articulation agreements? Findings indicate that 93% of articulation agreements are unreadable by community college students of average reading ability, with 69% of articulation agreements written at or above a 16th-grade reading level. Implications for practitioners and future research are addressed.     

High School Economic Composition and College Persistence

Using a longitudinal sample of Texas high school seniors of 2002 who enrolled in college within the calendar year of high school graduation, we examine variation in college persistence according to the economic composition of their high schools, which serves as a proxy for unmeasured high school attributes that are conductive to postsecondary success. Students who graduated from affluent high schools have the highest persistence rates and those who attended poor high schools have the lowest rates. Multivariate analyses indicate that the advantages in persistence and on-time graduation from 4-year colleges enjoyed by graduates of affluent high schools cannot be fully explained by high school college orientation and academic rigor, family background, pre-college academic preparedness or the institutional characteristics. High school college orientation, family background and pre-college academic preparation largely explain why graduates from affluent high schools who first enroll in 2-year colleges have higher transfer rates to 4-year institutions; however, these factors and college characteristics do not explain the lower transfer rates for students from poor high schools. The conclusion discusses the implications of the empirical findings in light of several recent studies that call attention to the policy importance of high schools as a lever to improve persistence and completion rates via better institutional matches.     

EARLY TRANSFER: A CASE STUDY OF TRADITIONAL-AGED COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS

The traditional 2+2 path no longer reflects the general practice of student transfer between 2- and 4-year institutions. However, students continue to enroll in and complete a substantial number of credits at community colleges. Studies related to transfer most frequently have focused on gathering statistics to measure posttransfer academic performance or student perceptions regarding the transfer process. It is important to talk with students to understand why they transfer before completing the associate degree. This article presents a qualitative analysis of interviews with 103 students who transferred from a public community college to a public state university. Findings indicated that many students enrolled at the community college with a specific intent other than earning the associate degree. Faculty members and students at both the community college and the university also influenced the number of credit hours students completed before transfer.     

The effect of articulation agreements on community college transfers and bachelor’s degree attainment

For more than a century, community colleges have provided a postsecondary education alternative to the traditional, 4-year university. Enrolling disproportionate numbers of both disadvantaged and nontraditional students, the community college sector has seen unparalleled gains in enrollment over the past few decades. Along with these increases in enrollment, there has been a shift in focus toward transfer to 4-year institutions, as well as the development of articulation agreements. Established in order to ease the transfer process from community colleges to 4-year colleges/universities—for those students interested in obtaining a bachelor’s degree—these agreements currently exist in more than 30 states. Via two-level, hierarchical linear modeling, this article examines the student and school level characteristics of community colleges that affect transfer and bachelor’s degree attainment rates. Also examined is the impact of articulation agreements. Ultimately, while articulation agreements are not found to yield a significant effect on transfer rates, they are found to have significant, positive effects on bachelor’s degree attainment rates.     

Community College Student Dropouts from Higher Education: Toward a Comprehensive Conceptual Model

ABSTRACT

Historically, higher education research has focused on traditional students (i.e., recent high school graduates at a residential, 4-year institutions), but community college students are quickly becoming the new traditional student (Jenkins, 2012). In the fall of 2011, more than one third (36%) of all students enrolled in postsecondary education and almost half (46.7%) of all students enrolled in a public postsecondary institution were enrolled at a community college (Knapp, Kelly-Reid, & Ginder, 2012). However, community colleges have struggled to match the persistence rates at other institutional types. The 2011 2-year public community college national 3-year persistence-to-degree rate was 26.9% (American College Testing [ACT], 2011). The purpose of this paper is to review the literature regarding the most prominent theoretical frameworks for community college student persistence and suggest a new theoretical construct. The resultant framework is termed the Collective Affiliation Model because it views the student’s sense of belonging with the college as only one of many senses of belonging in the student’s life (e.g., family, work). The Collective Affiliation Model does not view student dropout as the student’s inability to integrate into the life of the institution; rather, it views it as the institution’s inability to collectively affiliate with the student. This model’s strength is that it does not work from a student deficit model. Instead, it provides a new framework for researchers and practitioners to better understand and address student drop-out at community colleges.     

One Goal,Two Institutions: How a Community College and 4-Year University Partner to Bridge Student College Readiness Gaps

ABSTRACT

Recent national attention on college completion poses unique challenges and opportunities for community colleges. Moving underprepared students through basic skills educational courses to degree attainment represents an ongoing challenge. With more than 60% of community college students enrolled in remedial education, 2-year institutions must explore innovative approaches aimed at underprepared student completion. One community college did just that and partnered with a 4-year institution to expand postsecondary pathway options for underprepared first-year students. By establishing the Tiger Gateway Program, these two institutions collaborated to address student college readiness gaps using a summer bridge model. Seventy-five percent of participants self-reported as Hispanic/Latino with the remaining 25% identifying as African American or Black. Outcomes indicate participants who completed the program, 23 of 26, made gains in intellectual, academic, and social development. Findings support scholarship attesting that highly structured, meaningful, well-defined collaboration particularly benefits students from low-socio-status and underserved populations.     

More Girls Go to College: Exploring the Social and Academic Factors Behind the Female Postsecondary Advantage Among Hispanic and White Students

This study examines the female postsecondary advantage in matriculation among Hispanic and white youth with the goal of exploring whether social capital, in addition to academic performance and orientation, function similarly to help explain females’ higher likelihood of college attendance for each group. Utilizing data from the Texas Higher Education Opportunity Project (THEOP), results indicate that girls’ higher academic performance in high school is an important factor behind their subsequent gender advantage in 4-year college attendance, particularly for Hispanic students. Additionally, compared to their co-ethnic male peers, Hispanic and white girls have greater levels of social capital, such as more academically-focused friendship groups in high school, that are associated with higher rates of college attendance. However, girls’ greater frequency of discussion with high school counselors about college appears to contribute to the female advantage in matriculation only for Hispanic students. For both groups, the analyses suggest that all of the factors considered explain substantially less of the female advantage in 2-year college matriculation than they do for the female advantage in 4-year matriculation. In general, the results underscore the need for more research considering the complex processes through which gender and race/ethnicity intersect in shaping individuals’ paths to college.     

Examination of Factors that Predict Academic Adjustment and Success of Community College Transfer Students in STEM at 4-Year Institutions

ABSTRACT

There are a limited number of individuals who possess the skills to fulfill the workforce demand in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) in the United States. Therefore, community colleges and 4-year institutions must be able to identify academic and social factors that impact students’ participation in the areas of STEM. These institutions must also explore the possibility that these factors contribute to the high rate of students switching out of STEM fields. This study’s purpose was to develop a better understanding of the perceptions of community college transfer students who continue at a 4-year institution to determine academic and social factors that influenced their academic success in STEM. To collect the quantitative data, the Laanan-Transfer Students’ Questionnaire was utilized. The results of this study reveal that Academic Adjustment was predicted by father’s highest level of education, interaction with faculty at the community college and university, and perception as a transfer student at the university. The cumulative grade point average (GPA), was predicted by the highest level of education of the father, associate degree obtained at the community college, community college transfer GPA, general courses from the community college, transfer credit hours, and university course learning. Overall, the findings indicate that community colleges and 4-year institutions should encourage students to be connecting more in class and after class—not only with their peers, but also with faculty. Findings also suggest that students should become more involved academically and socially to enhance their academic and social adjustment at a 4-year institution.     

THE EFFECT OF ACADEMIC FACTORS ON TRANSFER STUDENT PERSISTENCE AND GRADUATION: A COMMUNITY COLLEGE TO LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGE CASE STUDY

Critics contend that enrollment in a community college lessens the likelihood that a student will complete a bachelor's degree (S. Brint & J. Karabel, 1989). A number of studies have examined personal, demographic, and environmental characteristics that influence the academic performance of community college transfer students. This research has included characteristics that are not readily available to admissions representatives at four‐year institutions, and studies have not considered the private, liberal arts college as the senior institution.

The purpose of this study was to identify easily ascertainable characteristics that occur prior to transfer and to assess the relationship of these characteristics to persistence and baccalaureate attainment at a private, liberal arts college. Two academic factors related to persistence and graduation were included in the methodology: completion of the associate (AA) degree and community college grade point average (GPA) The subjects for the study were 200 students who completed the AA degree and transferred from one of three community colleges to a private, liberal arts college over a 5‐year period.

Results indicated that whereas completion of the AA degree resulted in a higher persistence/graduation rate, completion of the AA degree with a community college GPA of 3.0 or higher increased the persistence/graduation rate to a level equal to that of native students.     

Transfer Student Success: Exploring Community College,University, and Individual Predictors

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates community college transfer success by exploring the relationship between individual and institutional-level characteristics at students’ two- and four-year institutions. Using statewide administrative data from North Carolina, this study employs a cross-classified multilevel model to investigate the impact that a student’s community college and four-year transfer institution have on post-transfer success. Our findings offer important and compelling insights into the relationship between transfer students, the community college they attended, the four-year transfer institution, and educational outcomes. While individual effects were small, we find several institutional factors associated with student success. Attendance at a large community college or having a public university in the same county as their community college is positively associated with student success, whereas size of the university is negatively related to grades during the first year and persistence to the second year. While the four-year institution’s selectivity is negatively related to many of our outcomes, transferring to a Historically Black College or University is positively associated with GPA, college persistence, and degree completion.     

Articulation,transfer, and student choice in a binary post-secondary system

This paper investigates the intersection of system articulation, transfer, and the choices that secondary school students make when they apply to college and university. The investigation is based on the results of a study that was undertaken to determine factors that influence choices that secondary school students make between enrolling in community college or university, and in particular whether or not those choices are affected by the degree of “articulation” within a public system of post-secondary education. There are several studies that have emerged recently in the United States and Canada that examine factors that influence the choice of university and 4-year college. There are a few studies that examine the choice of community and 2-year college. None, however, either in Canada or in the United States, has sought to examine “college choice” comparatively among students who apply to baccalaureate (4-year colleges and universities) and sub-baccalaureate (community colleges) programs. This study examines college choice on the basis of two series of longitudinal surveys conducted in the province of Ontario since the late 1980s, and on a series of surveys and interviews of students, parents and guidance counselors in six secondary schools, each with a different student population, since 2004. The third study—called the “college choice” project—tracked secondary school students as they made decisions about attending college or university, and as they finally selected the institutions that they would attend. The study concludes that greater conventional articulation will not significantly affect rates of transfer, that for most students plans to transfer develop after they enter college and are not a major factor in their initial “choice,” that the rate of transfer is highly dependent on the corresponding arrays of programs at colleges and universities, and that articulation might better be thought of as a subset of other basic forms of inter-institutional cooperation. An earlier version of this paper was presented to the ASHE Annual Conference, Louisville, Kentucky, November, 2007.     

Student Flow Between Community Colleges: Investigating Lateral Transfer

The traditional unidirectional (“linear”) postsecondary path from high school to a community college to a 4-year institution into the workforce represents accurately a decreasing proportion of the pathways actually taken by students through higher education. Instead, students increasingly exhibit patterns of enrollment that take them through multiple postsecondary institutions, both within levels of the higher education system (e.g., multiple community colleges, multiple 4-year institutions) and across levels (e.g., movement back and forth between community colleges and 4-year institutions). These “swirling” patterns of enrollment are widely recognized by scholars of higher education, but they remain poorly understood. In this study, I employ data that address 89,057 first-time students in the California community college system to answer a number of key questions concerning lateral transfer between community colleges, which, according to prior research, constitutes one sizeable component of student “swirl”. Building on the very limited work on this topic, I examine whether the reported high prevalence of lateral transfer holds true under a more stringent operational framework than that employed in prior work. I explore whether lateral transfer is primarily an artifact of students enrolling simultaneously in multiple community colleges, sometimes called “double-dipping”. I investigate the timing of lateral transfer from several different perspectives to determine how lateral transfer fits in students’ progress and development. Finally, I probe the relationship between students’ level of academic investment in their current community college and the risk of lateral transfer.     

Texas Community College Graduation and Persistence Rates as a Function of Student Ethnicity

In this investigation, the graduation and persistence rates of Texas community college students by ethnic membership (i.e., White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian) for the 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 academic years were examined. Statistically significant differences were present between the 2000 and the 2010 graduation and persistence rates for all four ethnic groups. Trends were also revealed for the graduation and persistence rates for all ethnic groups between the 2000 and the 2010 academic years. Results were congruent with the results of other researchers concerning differences in the graduation and persistence rates between White students and their Black and Hispanic counterparts.