Attrition and performance of community college transfers

Abstract

Community colleges are an important part of the US higher education landscape, yet the aptitude and preparedness of student transfers to baccalaureate institutions is often called into question. Examining transcript records and demographic information of nearly 70,000 students across over 15 years of registrar records at a public university, this study performed a descriptive analysis of the persistence, performance, and academic migration patterns of community college transfers, transfers from four-year institutions, and freshmen entrants. We found little difference between community college transfers and freshmen entrants in terms of post-transfer grades and persistence. Transfers from four-year institutions had higher grades but also had higher attrition rates than their peers. This study also found no strong evidence of transfer shock on students’ post-transfer grades. When examining the tendencies of students to shift fields of study during their educational pursuits, the academic migration patterns of transfer students were more concentrated than those of freshmen entrants.

Factors Affecting Direct and Transfer Entrants’ Active Coping and Satisfaction with the University

“…Thus, they would be more likely to have lower levels of commitment to the university [24]. With a poor sense of belonging to the university, as a consequence, TEs have higher dropout rates [7].…”

“…However, most studies have investigated students' university experiences solely from the perspectives of individual groups (i.e., direct entrants (DEs) [3] or transfer entrants (TEs) [4,5]), but not many have compared the two. Studies involving both groups of students have focused mostly on their academic performances [4,[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. Although the findings have been inconsistent, TEs have been shown to have similar, or even higher, grade point averages (GPAs) than DEs at graduation [4,13].…”

“…Besides, the term "campus culture shock" has been used to describe TEs' struggles with the new and unfamiliar university campus culture [13,15]. Compared with DEs, TEs have been found to have higher study loads [4], more mental health problems [13], and higher attrition rates [7]. Another problem that has been identified in TEs is related to their integration, engagement and adaptation in university, which are thought to be tied strongly to academic success [10].…”

Differences in study workload stress and its associated factors between transfer students and freshmen entrants in an Asian higher education context

“…After graduating from the community colleges, they can be accepted into the third year of their chosen four-year degree programmes, based on a credit unit transfer system [1]. In the literature, these students are called either vertical transfer students [3] or community college transfer (CCT) students [4]. In this paper, we refer to them as CCT students.…”

Instruction and Outreach for Transfer Students: A Colorado Case Study

“…After reviewing the records of nearly 70,000 students, Auluck and West found few differences in persistence and performance between community college and four-year institution transfers, and students entering as freshmen. 22 Hagedorn, Cypers, and Lester concluded, "endeavors to assist students to be more engaged in college life and to enjoy their experiences may be positive" but "hollow if not accompanied by intensive academic support and consistent advising services." 23…”