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

Abstract

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.

Perceptions and Challenges of Engineering and Science Transfer Students From Community College to University in a Chinese Educational Context

“…In normal cases, community college students are usually admitted to the university as 3rd-year students in the 4-year bachelor degree program structure. This means their study duration is the same as the mainstream students' (Ching et al, 2021). In addition, students who are studying in the university in this study are required to complete a certain credit of general education requirement subjects to fulfill the graduation requirement.…”

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

“…First, successful credit transfer facilitated by these systems promotes the recognition of students' prior learning, in terms of both their academic and professional training [47]. It also radically reduces transfer students' workloads and thus improves their learning experiences [48,49], due to a reduction in overloading that has been a long-standing issue in the transfer student literature [5][6][7][8][9][10]50]. At the same time, information gathered on these systems, such as records of credit transfer, helps to enhance the transparency, comprehensibility, and sustainability of the credit transfer process [51].…”

“…While extant research and documentation have covered credit transfer information systems (CTIS) in Western educational contexts, Hotta [67] conducted a meta-analysis of credit-related systems in 24 Asian countries and regions, including Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong. These systems were aimed primarily at improving international (i.e., cross-country) student mobility and none of them catered for community college or vertical transfer, despite the prevalence of this pathway in some Asian educational contexts [5][6][7][8][9][10]68]. Systems for credit transfer in Asia tend towards facilitating international exchange programmes and accommodating undergraduate students' international mobility [69].…”

“…The growing proportions of vertical transfer students in universities have led to calls for institutional actions to address and meet the needs of these students [3,4]. The transfer is often described as a "turbulent" pathway owing to the highly complex process of transitioning and adjusting from the sending institutions (e.g., community colleges) to the receiving ones (e.g., universities [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]). This route to baccalaureate studies is, as mentioned, also commonly known as vertical transfer, through which students completing their studies in a two-year community college can articulate to the third year of a bachelor's degree programme in a four-year university [12].…”

“…The foremost impact of effective articulation for transfer students is to move from one programme to another without repeating learning (i.e., taking similar courses) [18]; this is attainable through effective credit transfer practices [19]. When more of their pre-transfer credits are accepted by universities, their study loads can be reduced [10,20]. The resulting higher likelihood of degree attainment is the aspiration of many community college and transfer students [21].…”