A Long & Winding Road

How CTE Students Experience Transfer

A Long & Winding Road

PresentersEva Schiorring, MPPKelley Karandjeff, EdM

ObjectivesTwo take-aways:

• The road to transfer and degree is long and winding for students in disciplines like accounting, engineering and nursing.

• There are many opportunities for transfer path improvement…what can you do with this research?

A Long & Winding Road 2

Agenda

Who’s in the room & why are you here?

What is the CTE Transfer Research Project?

How long does it take students to achieve transfer, degree?

What happens to students along the way?

What actions can you take?

Where do we go from here?


GETTING TO KNOW YOU

Who’s here and why?


Who’s here and why?Considering your selection of this presentation…

• Take a minute to think about what made you choose this presentation and what you’re currently doing to support transfer in career disciplines

• Take another minute to share your answers; try connecting with someone you don’t know


SETTING THE CONTEXT

What is the CTE Transfer Research Project?


Why study transfer in occupational disciplines?Primary drivers:

• Growing gap between number of positions in occupations that demand a BA/BS and the number of individuals available to fill them

• Rising number of students who start their postsecondary education in a CA community college (CC) (~75%)

• Pressing need to understand potential solutions like increasing/improving transfer in career disciplines


Occupations requiring a BA w/ largest number of openings


How do we think about occupational transfer?Current path…


How do we think about occupational transfer?Improved path…


What are the opportunities for improvement? Possibilities for increasing access and facilitating success:

• Expand number, composition of students who enter pipeline

• Increase percent of students who reach the transfer point

• Encourage students to complete major coursework pre-transfer

• Reduce time, increase speed to transfer

• Reduce time, units to degree completion A Long & Winding Road 11

Where do you spend most of your time?Considering the transfer map and opportunities for improvement…

• Take a few minutes to think to yourself about where you spend most of your time and what part of the transfer map is your institution’s highest priority

• Jot down a few ideas and hold on to them for the next part of the presentation


What questions are we exploring?Key questions:

• How do students use community colleges to prepare for transfer in occupational disciplines?

• What factors complicate and support their journey?

• How can we increase students’ access to occupational pathways and improve their completion of transfer and a degree?


How are we conducting our research?Current activities include:

• Backward mapping paths taken by transfer students who successfully completed a degree

• Documenting students’ perspectives pre- and post-transfer

• Engaging stakeholders with findings to drive action that increases and facilitates transfer

14A Long & Winding Road

How long does it take students to achieve transfer, degree?

FOCUSING ON KEY FINDINGS


How long to transfer, degree in engineering?

Source: Cal-PASS study of 4,219 students at 19 universities who earned a BS in Engineering btw 1996-2009 after completing a minimum of 12 transferable units at a CCC


9%

44%

30%

14%2% 0%0%

6%

33% 35%

19%7%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

< 2 years

2 to < 4 years

4 to < 6 years

6 to < 8 years

8 to < 10 years

>= 10 years

Time to Transfer Time to Degree

How many units to transfer in engineering?

Source: Cal-PASS study of 4,219 students at 19 universities who earned a BS in Engineering btw 1996-2009 after completing a minimum of 12 transferable units at a CCC

24% 21% 17%

24%16%21%


How long to transfer?Percent of students who take…


Discipline 2-4 Yrs 4+ Yrs

Engineering 44% 46%

Accounting 47% 34%

Nursing 41% 43%

How long to degree?Percent of students who take…


Discipline 4-6 Yrs 6-8 Yrs 8+ Yrs

Engineering 33% 35% 26%

Accounting 39% 28% 19%

Nursing 34% 30% 30%

How many units to transfer?Percent of students who take…


Discipline 70+ Units

Engineering 45%

Accounting 35%

Nursing 33%

What do you think?Reflect on the findings about time to transfer and degree:

• Take a few minutes to think to yourself why you think it might take this long to achieve transfer, degree

• Jot down a few ideas and hold on to them for the next part of the presentation


UNDERSTANDING STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES

What happens to students along the way?


How did students get on a CC transfer path?

Students (generally): Motivated primarily by personal goal, career advancement Recognized the monetary, personal value of starting in the

CC system Engineering and nursing students:

Came to CCs with a focus on their major Intentionally used CCs to work toward a degree

Accounting students: Came to CCs with a general transfer goal Chose their major later when compared to other disciplines


What challenges did students encounter? Pre-transfer challenges:

• Financial barriers

• Difficulty balancing school, work, family

• Insufficient guidance, advising on path to transfer

• Inadequate understanding of, facility with transfer resources

• Inability to access required courses

• Differing requirements across transfer destinations

• Limited connection to CC, peers with similar goal


What challenges did students encounter? Post-transfer challenges:

• Need to take, repeat lower-division major courses

• Need to take additional GE courses

• Confusion over program vs university requirements

• Insufficient readiness for intensity, pace of university-level work

• Inability to get units accepted


What supported students toward their transfer goal? Resources:

• Specific education plans and prescribed transfer maps (engineering, nursing)

• ASSIST.org (all disciplines)

• Introductory courses geared toward transfer planning (engineering)

Programs:• Focused student support services (engineering)

• Participatory clubs and peer networks (accounting)


What supported students toward their transfer goal? People:

• Dedicated program counselors (engineering, nursing)

• Encouraging, guiding faculty (engineering)

• Supportive personal networks (all disciplines)

• Strong personal motivation, determination and advocacy (all disciplines)


What did we learn from a private, for-profit university?

Scope of research included: Accounting and nursing students attending a private, for-

profit university ~100 survey respondents, ~20 focus groups, interview

participants Participants:

Represented a broader age range than those from public universities

Were more often African-American, Latino Took more time between CC and university enrollment, often

working


What did we learn from private universities?

Despite encountering some challenges, students: Appreciated intensive guidance received from first

connection with the university Felt transfer was easy and the path to degree clear Saw the options for engagement as more in tune with the

needs of adults with competing commitments Experienced a stronger sense of community at their

university when compared to their CC Appreciated the level of attention paid to their efforts


MOVING FORWARD

What actions can you take—at your college, between segments, across the state?


What action can you take?Given these findings:

• Take a few minutes to consider and jot down: What is the most significant issue impacting students’

transfer success in your “world” (at your institution, in

your constituent group)? What is one action that you might take?

• Share your thoughts with your neighbor

• Be prepared to report out!


What action can you take?Ideas:


What suggestions do successful transfers make?Possibilities for CCs:

• Improve transfer advising, support

• Enhance opportunities for career awareness

• Strengthen students’ self-advocacy skills


What suggestions do successful transfers make?Possibilities for transfer universities:

• Improve advising, support for transfers

• Streamline requirements

• Support transfer students through their transition


TAKING NEXT STEPS

Where do we go from here?


How can we continue to work with you?Thinking about today’s presentation:

• What research is most relevant to you? What is missing?

• How can we continue to connect with you?

• Who else should we engage?


Thank You!

Contact:Eva SchiorringProject [email protected] www.rpgroup.org/cte

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mailto:[email protected]

http://www.rpgroup.org/cte

Occupations requiring a bachelor’s with fastest growth


Documents

A Long & Winding Road