A growing body of research has documented extensive credit loss among transfer students. However, the field lacks theoretically driven and empirically supported frameworks that can guide credit loss research and reforms. We develop and then test a comprehensive framework designed to address this gap using novel administrative credit loss data from…

Transfer student success is an increasingly important subject in higher education policy circles in recent years, and for good reason. Almost half of undergraduates attending Maryland's public four-year institutions transfer from the state's community colleges. However, transfer students complete bachelor's degrees at notably lower rates than…

In the United States, transferring from a two-year program to a four-year program has become an increasingly important route toward a bachelor's degree. However, the pathway has an extremely high attrition rate. Utilizing two recent institutional reforms in the University System of Georgia, I show that allowing community colleges to offer…

Objective: Strong institutional partnerships are critical to the transfer process for students because they can help ease navigation from one college to the next. This research seeks to better understand the nature of high-performing transfer partnerships, and the factors that can either promote or hinder their development. Methods: Drawing upon…

This is the third brief summarizing results from the longitudinal analysis of the Transfer Opportunity Project (TOP). TOP, funded by a grant from the Institute for Education Sciences (IES), explores the possible factors contributing to the low percentage of community college students who go on to earn bachelor's degrees. The project uses a…

Students who transfer between institutions of higher education often experience a transfer penalty or a decrease in the odds of degree completion. While the transfer pathway is deemed a responsibility shared between 2- and 4-year institutions, failures in the transfer process are typically attributed to community colleges. The aim of this study…

Stranded credit is credit that students have earned at a postsecondary institution, but cannot use or transfer because they have unpaid debts at the institution. Institutions will usually not issue official transcripts to students with debt, which results in the student being unable to formally document the credits they have acquired. This can…

Within the BC Transfer System (BCTS), decisions to award transfer credit are important to the overall success of the system. When courses are deemed to be equivalent, the ability to transfer credits from those courses facilitates students' mobility and academic success, in addition to creating cost efficiencies at the participating institutions.…

This study intends to identify existing permeability pathways between post-secondary education and training in Cambodia and to highlight hindrances that hamper the smooth permeability between the two systems. Adopting a hybrid process, the study combines both inductive and deductive thematic analysis approaches in coding transcribed interviews at…

During the last two decades, Asian countries have attempted to establish several aligned academic credit systems as part of the harmonization process of their higher education systems. However, these systems have not been widely used among universities in the Asian region. This article analyzes the current trends in credit-related governmental…

In the framework of European educational convergence, university teaching must respond to the new challenges posed by the European System of Transfer Credits (ECTS) while encouraging improvement and innovation in didactical aspects of formation. In Spain, the field of the History of Education has assumed an active role in the advancement of…

One of the key steps when developing pathways between baccalaureate and diploma programs is comparing learning goals between the programs. This paper presents application of a seven-dimensional framework (cognitive process, transferability, depth of analysis, interdependence, question novelty, scaffolding and communication) to analyze the implicit…

TransferBOOST (Bachelor's Opportunity Options that are Straightforward and Transparent) is a multi-year state-level initiative developed to provide students with affordable, quality, well-supported two- to four-year pathways. On average, 43 percent of credits are lost nationwide through the transfer process. Recognizing that today's students…

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting financial crisis are forcing millions of students to reconsider their educational plans--a development that's likely to increase the number of students transferring among institutions in the years ahead. Affordable and close to home, community colleges in particular are now poised to attract more students…

Researchers have consistently attested that those who earn a college degree experience numerous personal and professional benefits that can greatly influence their lives. Degree completion has been linked to multiple individual benefits including financial benefits, overall health benefits, increased civic engagement, social mobility, and overall…