Transfer and Traditional Theory, Transition, and Transformation Presented at the Institute for the Study of Transfer Students Conference January 31, 2006

Transfer andTraditional

Theory, Transition, and Transformation

Presented at the

Institute for the Study of Transfer Students Conference

January 31, 2006

Ed Whipple, Vice President for Student Affairs

Bowling Green State University



From Personal Experience…

At one campus…


Theory, Transition, and Transformation GOALS• Understand the higher education environment today in which transfers find themselves

• Review who are our transfer students?

• Identify key student development concepts that apply to transfer students

• Review what research tells us about transfer students

• Suggest strategies for working with transfer students


Theory, Transition, and TransformationShort-Term Outlook for

Higher Education

1.Cost

2. Demographics


Theory, Transition, and Transformation Cost• Today’s four-year graduate can expect to earn

61% more annually than a high-school graduate

• Today’s two-year graduate will earn 25% more

• State tax revenues nationally fell 10% from 2000 to 2003, and spending cut overall by 3.3%. Higher education appropriations declined in 36 states.

• For the first quarter of 2005, state tax revenues grew by 11.7%, compared with the first quarter in 2004.


Theory, Transition, and Transformation Demographics• 17,350,000 enrolled in colleges and universities (Fall 2005)

• 18,650,000 projected (Fall 2010)

• Transfer students will be in greater numbers due to the increase of the two-year population and

changing attitudes, beliefs, and values



The American First-Year Student(2004, ACE and UCLA Higher Education Research Institute)

Students estimate chances are very good that they will:

• be satisfied with college 51%

• get a job to help pay for college 47%

• participate in student clubs or groups 40%

• communicate regularly with professors 31%

• change a major field 14%

• transfer before graduating 7%

• seek personal counseling 7%




Reasons noted as “very important” in deciding to go to college:

• My parents wanted me to go 42%

• Wanted to get away from home 22%

• I could not find a job 6%

• There was nothing better to do 4%




College-Going Decisions

• Why go to any college?

… to get away from home 21.7%

… in 1978 8.7%

• Why pick your particular college?

… living near home was a very important reason in selecting college 18.7%

… an all-time high!




College-Going Decisions

Parental influence at both ends of the spectrum

• students go to college near home

• students go to college to get away from home


Theory, Transition, and TransformationThe “Gamer” Generation!

“Gamers” defined:• high competence; competitive; driven; committed; multi-tasking; team-oriented• loyal; immersed in data• leadership skills; want to be heroes• personal performance matters• expect high rewards for created value• dexterity / good reflexes• fully engaged; internally motivated• 90 million individuals are Gamers• never knew life without video games• spend more time “gaming” than watching rented moviesSource: Beck, J. C., & Wade, M. (2004). Got game: How the Gamer generation is reshaping business forever. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press.


Theory, Transition, and TransformationThe “Gamer” Generation!

“Gamers” experience the world as:• Competitive• Risky• Difficult• Social• Global• Heroic• Attention-getting

What implications does this havefor our work with transfer students?



Issues facing the undergraduate traditional

transfer student

• academic under-preparedness• social deficiencies• dysfunctional families or backgrounds• alcohol or drug abuse history• financial stress• threats to physical, emotional, or mental well-being• challenge-of-choice (of major or career)• geographic preferences• lack of connection with someone at the

institution


Theory, Transition, and Transformation First Generation College Students

• unique set of concerns and expectations

• institutions need to understand and validate needs and concerns of first-generation students if they are to help students transition to college and achieve educational goals



Challenges and Opportunities for a Liberal Education

• students’ predispositions at college entry inform choices of peers, coursework, and activities• unique opportunity to further enhance citizenship engagement in college with 2005 cohort• distinct differences in orientations indicate receptivity to liberal education ideals – special challenge of monetary gain versus personal/intellectual development• assist first generation students in navigating the physical, social, and intellectual geographies of campus• implications?



Transfer and Traditional:

Facing Similar Challenges

“…a widespread, inchoate sense among today’s students that the world under their

feet is shaky…” (p. 276)

“…comfort is this generation’s end goal – one most efficiently reached by avoiding

confrontation…” (p. 277)

Source: Seaman, B. (2005). Binge: What your college student won’t tell you. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.




Facing Similar Challenges

“Most administrators don’t want to take the risk [of ‘letting’ students ‘grow up’]. Instead, they are

counting on a change in the character of the young men and women headed their way: the

Millennials.” (p. 278)

“Given the levels of achievement needed to get into… good schools in the first place, you would

expect that students would feel more pressure to succeed and might be more constrained in their

behavior.” (p. 277)

Source: Seaman, B. (2005). Binge: What your college student won’t tell you. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.



• more transfer students on campus• tighter articulation between community colleges and universities• community strain on four-year institutions• different demands on student affairs• challenges to systems behavior• emerging theories of student development

Source: Miller, M. T., & Nadler, D. P. (2004). Transfer trends in the future of higher education. In B. C. Jacobs (Ed.), The college transfer student in America: The forgotten student. Washington, DC: American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. (P. 187-201)


What are some trends on campuses today among

transfer students?



• A need to look at the many issues students bring with them to our campuses that impede their academic success.


We can add…

• A need to not only anticipate students who transfer to our campuses, but to anticipate those who transfer from our campuses.

• An increased call to quickly assimilate transfer students, in whatever way, into the mainstream of institution life.




How does student development theory impact transfer students?

Chickering & Reisser’s (1993) seven vectors of identity development*

• developing competence• managing emotions• moving through autonomy towards

interdependence

*Source: Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., & Guido-DiBrito, F. (1998). Student development in college. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.




How does student development theory impact transfer students?

Chickering & Reisser’s (1993) seven vectors of identity development* (continued)

• developing mature

interpersonal relationships• establishing identity• developing purpose• developing integrity





Environmental and Cultural Influences

Environment influences development along all 7

vectors, particularly with regard to friendship

and student communities.

Residence hall floors, student organizations, or

classroom groups offer the “regular

interactions” among students in which to

encourage this development.





Schlossberg’s Transition Theory (1995)*

Transition = “any event, or non-event, that results in changed

relationships, routines, assumptions, and roles.” (p. 111)

The time needed to achieve successful integration will vary

with the person and the transition. Transitions may lead to

growth, but decline is also a possible outcome… (p. 111-112)


Transitions consist of phases:

“moving in” / “moving through” / “moving out” (p. 112)

4 influencing factors:

Situation, Self, Support, Strategies



Do we think of transfer students as part of a student development

model?



Theory, Transition, and Transformation NSSE/CCSSEHow have the National Survey of Student

Engagement (NSSE) and the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) help us

learn about student development?

• Community colleges educate diverse students with diverse goals

• Students have significant demands on their time, and a range of personal, academic, and financial challenge

• CCSSE 2005: students’ goals for attending a community college:

-- to obtain an associate’s degree

-- to transfer to a four-year college or university

-- to obtain or update job-related skills

-- to enhance personal skills, self-improvement, or for personal enjoyment.


Theory, Transition, and Transformation NSSE/CCSSEHow have the National Survey of Student

Engagement (NSSE) and the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) help us

learn about student development?

• 60% of community college student are part-time students

• 57% of community college students work more than 20 hours per week

• 36% of community college students care for dependents (more than 11 hours per week)

• 21% of community college students commute (and spend significant time doing so)


Theory, Transition, and Transformation NSSE/CCSSECampuses use NSSE results to stimulate conversations about

how to enhance student learning and improve collegiate quality. The following selections highlight key findings from this year’s

[2005] annual survey:

• The single best predictor of student satisfaction with college is the degree to which they perceive the college environment to be supportive of their academic and social needs.

• Almost half (45%) of all seniors took at least one course from another postsecondary institution prior to enrolling at their current institution.

• Students who frequently engage in spirituality-enhancing practices also participate more in a broad cross- section of collegiate activities. (NSSE report, 2005)


Theory, Transition, and Transformation NSSE/CCSSE• Almost half (45%) of all seniors completed at least one course at another postsecondary institution since graduating from high school but prior to enrolling at their current institution.

• More than half (55%) of all transfer students took the majority of their courses from a vocational-technical school or from a community or junior college.

• The most common reasons given for transferring to their current institution were the institution’s location and the availability of a specific program of study

• Transfer students from two-year institutions had fewer interactions with faculty, and participated in fewer educationally enriching activities.


Theory, Transition, and Transformation NSSE/CCSSE• Transfer students from four-year institutions participated in more active and collaborative learning, participated in fewer educationally enriching activities, viewed the campus as less supportive, reported gaining less from college than their peers, and were less satisfied with college.

• Compared with seniors who began and persisted at their current institution, students who transferred later in the course of studies (i.e., had a higher class standing) when they initially enrolled at their current institution: interacted less with faculty; participated in fewer educationally enriching activities; and reported gaining less from their peers.


Theory, Transition, and Transformation Into PracticeHow can we use this information in our

work with transfer students?

• the need to provide accommodation services (campus daycare, parking, “after-hours” services/business hours, etc.) for part-time and evening classes• the obligation to provide full academic services in distinct forms and during distinct times (after regular business hours) for part-time students

• provide adequate advising methods to accommodate part-time schedules – “map out” a degree-progress plan/schedule toward projected degree date• create unique, useful, and “easy” involvement opportunities to heighten campus engagement for these students educate faculty and other academic professionals about the varying needs and demographics of this part- time population.


Theory, Transition, and Transformation SummaryTheory

As students, transfers develop in similar ways,but with added conditions of change and transition.

TransitionThe process of transition results in changed relationships,

touching on dimensions of situation, self, support, and strategies that will continue to shapethe transfer student experience.

TransformationThe transfer student will benefit greatly from

creative opportunities and structured support to be provided by student affairs and academic professionals across the

institution. Using theory and assessment,we must transform our practice to

support a successful experience for these students.



Presented at the

Institute for the Study of Transfer Students Conference

January 31, 2006

Ed Whipple, Vice President for Student Affairs

Bowling Green State University

Documents

Transfer and Traditional Theory, Transition, and Transformation Presented at the Institute for the Study of Transfer Students Conference January 31, 2006