Objective: Although most community college students intend to transfer to a 4-year college, few ultimately do. We sought to assess how student experiences of the Exploring Transfer (ET) program influenced transfer rates. The ET program was offered by a private, 4-year liberal arts college. Methods: We used data from a cross-sectional survey of…

The development of cost-efficient pathways is a topic of increasing political and scholarly interest across many North American jurisdictions. It has been suggested that 'seamless' transfer pathways can provide financial savings to both students and taxpayers. However, such claims are typically based on hypothetical cost calculations, as opposed…

Volume is the dominant metaphor underlying the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS). Credits are used to 'express the volume of learning based on the defined learning outcomes and their associated workload', with the latter based on volume of student effort. But the convenience of volume can leave the first part overlooked, i.e.…

Objective/Research Question: This practitioner-scholar study investigated perceptions and experiences of community college students who transferred upon completion of their associate degree programs in Colorado, a state with multiple state-level transfer policies. Each student participated in a cohort-based transfer support program offered at…

Over the past 15 years, significant advances have been made in public health education in the United States, creating new opportunities for community colleges, especially in terms of clarifying career and general transfer pathways for students. In 2014, a national taskforce published two curricular models for public health education in community…

Studies have explored the relationship between travelling non-linear post-secondary (PSE) pathways and student achievement in multiple jurisdictions. This research aims to overcome some of the major challenges faced by scholars in this area by leveraging a new administrative linkage in Ontario, Canada containing detailed information on students'…

The partnership between Tohono O'odham Community College (TOCC) and the Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Center (SWEHSC) at the University of Arizona (UA) has relied on principles that have produced a long-term relationship and full participation among the partners. Active listening, travelling to the community, longevity, understanding…

The American Council on Education (2021) estimates that 38% of fall 2019 undergraduate students will change schools within six years. Of that group, only 13% are projected to earn a bachelor's degree (NCES, 2019). Clearly, there is a disjoint between the goals of transfer students and the programs that are in place to help them meet their goals.…

Less than one-third of dual enrollment participants choose to matriculate with the host institution after high school, especially at a community college. Using Perna's college choice model, this qualitative study explored how dual enrollment participation shaped students' choice to attend the host institution the semester after high school…

The information asymmetry and inequitable consumer dynamics that have existed in the market for used cars are strikingly similar to problems encountered by transfer students in higher education. Specifically, we can think of transfer articulation as a marketplace, where students are the buyers, colleges and universities are the sellers, and…

Beginning the path to a bachelor's degree in community college has the potential to be a more cost-effective higher education option. Previous research on transfer students has focused broadly on curriculum alignment, articulation policies, and academic advising in efforts to reduce credit loss. Credit loss can significantly impact transfer…

This chapter builds upon past research on community colleges and four-year baccalaureate degree-granting institutions' efforts to improve transfer. We present a framework that describes multiple types of collaborative relationships between institutions and share strategies for practitioners to develop partnerships.

Many states have enacted policies to increase accountability for 2- to 4-year institutions in an effort to increase degree completion (Sponsler, Pingel, & Anderson, 2015). Reform initiatives, including Guided Pathways (Bailey, Jaggers, & Jenkins, 2015), have developed mechanisms for 2-year students to have structured, sequential course…

Objective: Transfer student capital (TSC) helps community college students realize the potential for the transfer pathway to serve as a lower-cost option to a bachelor's degree. However, students' accrual of TSC depends on the quality and quantity of information networks and infrastructure; information asymmetry in these networks can impede…

Better understanding of how students achieve vertical transfer is vital for advancing equity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) majors. Among the many sources of barriers, delays, and complexities demonstrated in previous research as influencing vertical transfer outcomes, the transfer admission process has been generally…