Arguing that the decline in the number of community college students transferring to four-year colleges could have a more dramatic effect on baccalaureate-granting institutions than the projected drop in the number of high school graduates, this paper traces the history of the community college's transfer function and discusses the implications of…

Urges community colleges to view transfer as a matter of student and organizational behavior, and as a matter of academic practice. Argues that increased attention to these transfer issues will facilitate better descriptions and analyses of the transfer function as well as students' baccalaureate attainment. (DMM)