Upload
macie-dice
View
220
Download
1
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
THE COLLEGE TRANSFER STUDENT IN
AMERICA: THE FORGOTTEN
STUDENT
Bonita C. Jacobs, Ph.D.President North Georgia College & State University
September 13, 2011
2
DEFINING TRANSFER
• “Traditional” • 2-Year to 4-Year public• 2-year to 4-year private
• Other Patterns• 4-4• 4-2• 2-4-4• 2-2-4• Transfer Swirl
3
MYTHS ABOUT TRANSFER STUDENTS
All transfers go to community colleges for
two years and finish the last two years at a
four-year school
Forget transfer orientation! They won’t come
4
MYTHS ABOUT TRANSFER STUDENTS
Transfer students do not want to be
involved on campus
Parents of transfer students are not
interested in being involved with
the campus
5
MYTHS ABOUT TRANSFER STUDENTS
Transfer students do not
live in residence halls
Transfer students are
inferior students
6
MYTHS ABOUT TRANSFER STUDENTS
Retention strategies are not needed for transfer
students
Transfer students do not connect with the university
Transfer students will not donate to the University
following graduation
7
MYTHS ABOUT TRANSFER STUDENTS
Transfer students go to a two-year school from high school only because:• they are less mature• they don’t have the money for a four-
year school• they don’t have the grades to get into
a four-year school
8
MYTHS ABOUT TRANSFER STUDENTS
Transfer students who go to a
two-year school from high
school do not have goals or
aspirations
9
MYTHS ABOUT TRANSFER STUDENTS
The majority of transfer
students are non-
traditional in age
International students do
not transfer
10
BOTTOM LINE:
Transfer Students Are
Diverse Within
Themselves
11
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT TRANSFER
Nearly 60% of all students who graduate from a four-year institution entered college at a different institution
(NECS, 2007)
12
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT TRANSFER
11% were at some point co-enrolled in more than one college
(NECS, 2002)
13
TRANSFER STUDENTS:
ETHNICALLY DIVERSE
Racial and ethnic minorities account for about 48%
of the community college population (Phillippe & Patton for AACC,
1999)
“At the national level, community college students
represent higher percentages of underrepresented,
non-traditional, low-income, and lower performing
students” (Falconetti & Jones, 2009)
14
TRANSFER STUDENTS: ETHNICALLY DIVERSE
Among all undergraduates:57% of Native Americans are in community colleges
47% of Asian/Pacific Islanders are in community
colleges
47% of Blacks are in community colleges
55% of Hispanics are in community colleges(NCES, 2007)
15
TRANSFER & GRADUATION RATE
Transfers are less likely to graduate in four years
• 51 months - single institution average • 59 months - two-institutions average• 67 months - three or more institutions average
But just as likely to complete a
degree program (NCES, 2007)
16
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
•NSSE and other research suggest that transfer students
are less involved in clubs, service, research with faculty,
etc.
•Intrinsic to student factors, such as more need to work,
older and have families, etc.?
•But, we must be careful to not generalize transfer
students.
17
Do we exert same amount of
energy on transfer success
initiatives as on freshman
success initiatives?
18
A DECADE PAST:
The Policy Center on
the First Year of College
found that:Only 1/3 of institutions
offer special services for transfer students …
(Swing, R. L. 2000)
19
… Those institutions that did not offer
special services explained that:
Their transfer population was too small
Traditional programs care for transfer
needs
(Swing, R. L. 2000)
20
… Further, Swing found that• Of those who do offer special
services they are usually limited to:
• Transcript evaluation• Transfer-specific orientation
• Institutions assume that transfer students are “experienced” and do not need other services
Those days are gone…
Swing, R. L. (2000)
21
TRANSFER ISSUES: STATE PRACTICES
Much variance from state to state
…but all weighing in!
22
TRANSFER ISSUES: ARTICULATION AGREEMENTS
Depending on the campus, can be quite diverse• Institutional• Departmental
Those who implement the agreements should be
involved in the formulation of the details• Including faculty is vital
“Transfer” vs. applicability to a particular degree plan
23
TRANSFER ISSUES: ORIENTATION
• Transfers are diverse! Thus, orientation must be
diverse
• What about parents? Can they affect the NSSE
data on
transfer engagement?
• What about engagement?
• Involvement from the top
24
TRANSFER ISSUES: ADVISING
Developmental as well as prescriptive – including
clarification of
goals and discussions regarding choices
Knowledge of articulation agreements, common course
numbering, computer transfer systems is imperative!
25
THE 3 STAGES OF TRANSFER
Stage One: What They Expect Before Transfer
60% expect to feel marginalized & worry about navigating
the system
92% struggle with their need for guidance
93% are concerned with fitting into the university culture
“I am sure I’ll be lost”
eSource, Karen Owens, February 2009
26
THE 3 STAGES OF TRANSFER
Stage Two: Student Perception at Mid-Semester
95% express a need for more “personal attention”
88% seek more “academic integration”
51% desire “more social interaction”
86% of students identified poor communication in and
between institutions as a significant issue
27
THE 3 STAGES OF TRANSFER
Stage Three: Recommendations for Success
49% recommend transfer advisors
• “someone to call their own”
49% recommend a transfer-specific orientation
27% ask for a step-by-step transfer checklist
28
A PERFECT STORMVoluntary System of Accountability and the College Portrait
• http://www.voluntarysystem.org/index.cfm
Legislative Pressures (Federal and State)
Statewide Agreements & Common Course Guidelines
Returning Veterans
29
IPKITE D U C AT I O N. M I SS O U R I . E D U / O R G S / I P K I T / I N D E X
Institutional Audit of Policies, Practices, and Attitudes
Affecting Transfer Students • Version 1: For Community Colleges• Version 2: For Baccalaureate Degree Institutions
Conducting Focus Groups about Transfer
Constructing Surveys about Transfer
Coding Open-Ended Responses to Survey Questions
Data Sources for Information about Transfer and Degree
Attainment
30
FOEW W W. J N G I . O R G
John N. Gardner Institute for
Excellence in Undergraduate Education
Foundations of Excellence for
Transfer
2-Year and 4-Year Versions
31
WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE:
• Students Who Do Not Plan for Transfer
• Course Applicability Limitations
• Reverse and Swirling Transfer Issues
• Financial Aid Issues
• 2-year and 4-year Communication Issues
32
Only 33.5% of students intending to transfer report
that they received their transfer information from
their college counselor or advisor
36.4% of students feel they do not have enough
information to transfer successfully
Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education
33
INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH
What data do you have on transfer students?
What data should you have?
The amount of information available about
first-time students is far more complete than
information about transfer students
34
ASSESSMENT!
• Of articulation agreements
• Of success rates from Campus A to Campus B
• Of transfer orientation
• Of transfer advisement
• Of transfer student engagement
• Of transfer student expectations
• Of transfer student satisfaction
35
NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF TRANSFER STUDENTS
Texas Transfer Success Conference
• May 22, 2009
10th Annual Conference• January 25-27, 2012, Fort Worth, Texas
http://transferinstitute.unt.edu