Challenges for Successful Transfer From Community to Bachelor’s Colleges: Views of Staff and Faculty With Transfer Responsibilities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33423/jhetp.v24i2.6801Keywords:
higher education, transfer, faculty, staff, associate’s program, bachelor’s programAbstract
Staff and faculty have influential roles in the success of students transferring from associate’s- to bachelor’s-degree programs (vertical transfer students). Our survey compared the reported views on transfer of 607 staff and faculty with transfer responsibilities in associate’s or bachelor’s programs at 19 City University of New York colleges. The findings included: (1) Staff reported feeling more confident in their responsibilities than did faculty. (2) Participants working with associate’s-degree students were more likely to report their colleges had sufficient transfer-service resources. (3) Associate’s-degree faculty were the least likely participant group to respond that the biggest barrier to the transfer process was GPA decline (transfer shock), and the most likely that it was credit transfer, whereas for bachelor’s-degree faculty, it was the reverse. These findings can inform policy and practice. For example, to work together towards a common goal of transfer student success and higher education equity, faculty may need more support in performing transfer-related duties and bridging their differing views across college sectors.
References
AAUP. (2015). Policy documents and reports (11th Ed.). American Association of University Professors.
Bahr, P.R., Toth, C., Thirolf, K., & Massé, J.C. (2013). A review and critique of the literature on community college students’ transition processes and outcomes in four-year institutions. In M.B. Paulsen (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (Vol. 28, pp. 459–511). Springer.
Bowker, L. (2021). Exploring faculty perspectives on college-to-university transfer in a large Canadian university. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 45(4), 290–306. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3QkWKQu
Carnevale, A.P., Cheah, B., & Wenzinger, E. (2021). The college payoff: More education doesn’t always mean more earnings. Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3KtV1Vx
CUNY Office of Human Resources Management. (2019). Staff facts. Fall 2019. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3QjlLvp
CUNY Office of Institutional Research and Assessment. (2020a, April 11). Total enrollment by undergraduate and graduate level, full-time/part-time attendance, and college: Fall 2018. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3rMaFF0
CUNY Office of Institutional Research and Assessment. (2020b, August 18). A profile of undergraduates at CUNY senior and community colleges: Fall 2019. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3LAgGKe
DeWine, P.R., Ludvik, M.B., Tucker, M., Mulholland, S., & Bracken, W. (2017). Exploring a successful community college student transition to a research-university environment. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 41(12), 809–822. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3rYJc2V
Dimino, M. (2020, December 7). College transfer in the COVID-19 era: Expectations vs. reality. Third Way. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/2VSRfLt
Elliott, D.C., & Lakin, J.M. (2020). Running the STEM gauntlet: The complicity of four-year universities in the transfer penalty. Research in Higher Education, 61, 540–565. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3Olnaza
Gentsch, K., Truelsch, S., Oka, Y., & Logue, A.W. (2022, August 4). Transfer shock: Reality or myth? Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3ctHShu
Giani, M.S. (2019). The correlates of credit loss: How demographics, pre-transfer academics, and institutions relate to the loss of credits for vertical transfer students. Research in Higher Education, 60, 1113–1141. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3DCpDA3
Hayes, S., Lindeman, L., & Lukszo, C. (2020). The role of academic advisors in the development of transfer student capital. NACADA Journal, 40(1), 49–63. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3oTZxVs
Hills, J.R. (1965). Transfer shock: The academic performance of the junior college transfer. The Journal of Experimental Education, 33(3), 201–215.
Horn, L., & Skomsvold, P. (2011, November). Community college student outcomes: 1994-2009. NCES 2012-253. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3qm6YVX
Hyatt, S.E., & Smith, D.A. (2020). Faculty perceptions of community college transfer students: The private university experience. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 44(6), 395–411. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3Qsk3It
Logue, A.W. (2017). Pathways to reform: Credits and conflict at The City University of New York. Princeton University Press.
Logue, A.W., Oka, Y., Wutchiett, D., Gentsch, K., & Abbeyquaye, S. (2022). Possible causes of leaks in the transfer pipeline: Student views at the 19 colleges of The City University of New York. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice. Advance online publication. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3IXSPou
Mayhew, M.J., Rockenbach, A.N., Bowman, N.A., Seifert, T.A.D, Wolniak, G.C., Pascarella, E.T., & Terenzini, P.T. (2016). How college affects students: 21st century evidence that higher education works (Vol. 3). Jossey-Bass.
Monaghan, D.B., & Attewell, P. (2015). The community college route to the bachelor’s degree. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 37, 70–91. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3PohrbB
National Center for Education Statistics. (2020, August). A 2017 follow-up: Six-year persistence and attainment at any institution for 2011-12 first-time postsecondary students. NCES 2020-238. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/39UCpyh
National Center for Education Statistics. (2021, May). Characteristics of postsecondary students. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3Ohdjue
Packard, B.W.-L., Tuladhar, C., & Lee, J.-S. (2013). Advising in the classroom: How community college STEM faculty support transfer-found students. Journal of College Science Teaching, 42(4), 14–20.
Payne, B.K., Vandecar-Burdin, T., & Cigularova, D. (2022). Attitudes about cybersecurity articulation agreements and transfer students: A Statewide survey of faculty members and advisors. NACADA, 42(2). Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3rW2kik
Scheld, J. (2023). The path to a bachelor’s degree: The effect of starting at a community college. Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, 23(8), 164–213.
Schudde, L., & Brown, R.S. (2019). Understanding Variation in Estimates of Diversionary Effects of Community College Entrance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sociology of Education, 93(3), 247–68. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/45eoKcX
Schudde, L., Bradley, D., & Absher, C. (2020). Navigating vertical transfer online: Access to and usefulness of transfer information on community college websites. Community College Review, 48(1), 3–30. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3Mhe6ZQ
Schudde, L., Jabbar, H., & Hartman, C. (2021). How political and ecological contexts shape community college transfer. Sociology of Education, 94(1), 65–83. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3MiTQqP
Senie, K.C. (2016). Implementing transfer and articulation: A case study of community colleges and state universities. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 40(4), 269–284. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3rVa7wV
Shapiro, D., Dundar, A., Huie, F., Wakhungu, P., Yuan, X., Nathan, A. & Hwang, Y. (2020, September 29). Tracking transfer: Measures of effectiveness in helping community college students to complete bachelor’s degrees. National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/2HLn2dL
Shapiro, D., Dundar, A., Huie, F., Wakhungu, P.K., Bhimdiwali, A., Nathan, A., & Youngsik, H. (2018, July). Transfer and mobility: A national view of student movement in postsecondary institutions, fall 2011 cohort (Signature report no. 15). National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/37KsavN
Smith, A.A. (2023, May 17). Despite decades of calls to action, California community college students face roadblocks to transfer. EdSource. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/42NulGl
Sutcliffe, S., Knox, D., & Dorimé-Williams, M. (2023, March 16). Faculty and credit transfer. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/43TVyH3
Taylor, J.L., & Jain, D. (2017). The multiple dimensions of transfer: Examining the transfer function in American Higher Education. Community College Review, 45(4), 273–293. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/43LCEC8
Taylor, Z.W. (2019). Inarticulate transfer: Do community college students understand articulation agreements? Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 43(1), 65–69. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/43M5Vg9
Tibshirani, R. (1996). Regression shrinkage and selection via the lasso. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series B (Methodological), 58(1), 267–288. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3qecdax
Tobolowsky, B.F., & Cox, B.E. (2012). Rationalizing neglect: An institutional response to transfer students. The Journal of Higher Education, 83(3), 389–410. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3qf81Y1
Wang, X. (2020, April 23). Colleges should cultivate more equitable transfer pathways. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/47cBG4R
Wang, X. (n.d.). Main barriers transfer (-intending) students experience & overcome. National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/47ihXAT
Whinnery, E., & Peisach, L. (2022, July 28). 50-state comparison: Transfer and articulation policies. Education Commission of the States. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3DNId8F
Witteveen, D., & Attewell, P. (2020). The vertical transfer penalty among bachelor’s degree graduates. Journal of Higher Education, 91(1), 32–57. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3OCcGg8