Students who transfer from a community college to a four-year university have a singular path to travel. Researchers have studied this population for several decades. This research dissertation has built on the findings of these pioneers in the field of transfer student persistence. As a result of this study, two additional pieces of the transfer…

This article reports on the findings of qualitative research which investigated appropriate means for measuring the efficacy of 3 + 1 transfer programs. In a 3 + 1 program, students complete 90 credits at the community college and are awarded a baccalaureate degree after completing their final 30 credits at a four-year college or university.…

Many Virginians aspiring to earn a four-year degree intentionally begin their journey at one of the 23 community colleges within the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). In concert with those aspirations, the VCCS is committed to providing its residents an affordable and accessible program of study that prepares them to transfer and earn a…

Only 25% of community college students transfer to a 4-year institution within 5 years, and only 17% earn a bachelor's degree within 6 years of transferring (Jenkins & Fink, 2015). In response, community colleges have partnered with 4-year institutions to draft articulation agreements, outlining transfer policies and procedures for specific…

Community college students face a unique set of challenges when making a vertical transfer to a four-year university. This study utilized a Modified Delphi technique to identify the perceived factors that influence bachelor's degree completion of vertical transfer students. Factors related to the classroom, meaningful relationships with faculty,…

Nationally, more than 75% of individuals who are credentialed to teach are prepared in traditional college- or university-based teacher education programs (TEPs). But the college and employment pathways that prospective teachers take to TEP enrollment and completion have not been comprehensively examined. A better understanding of how credentialed…

As a partner with the City University of New York (CUNY) on the Transfer Opportunity Project, MDRC's Center for Applied Behavioral Science (CABS) team used behavioral mapping to help identify the malleable factors (that is, the factors subject to change) that impede student transfer. MDRC and CUNY researchers conducted nearly 50 interviews and…

Complimenting an earlier data note on enrollment by Meza (2019) [see Data Note 2, ED608169], results of this data note examine the completion rates of students in Community College Baccalaureate (CCB) programs in Washington state by program area and student demographics. We find CCB degree completion rates are rising and now approach the…

Researchers have attempted to understand how institutions could retain and graduate more students by proposing models to examine different relationships. A large body of research on college student persistence, retention and graduation has emerged and most of the research has been focused around the freshman experience, with little consideration…

This descriptive report is the eighth iteration of the biennial transfer progress report required by the Washington State Legislature. The report: (1) Monitors progress on the following transfer effectiveness indicators (number of students earning transfer degrees over time and median quarter credits earned toward a bachelor's degree by transfer…

This report describes the rationale, goals, and activities of the Strengthening Michigan Humanities (MiHumanities) project, an effort led by the Michigan Community College Association (MCCA) and funded by the Mellon Foundation. The project is designed to strengthen community college transfer pathways in four humanities fields--communication,…

California has long been a destination of opportunity--and challenge--for Black Californians. Known for its innovation and economic prosperity, California's higher education institutions play a critical role for social and economic mobility for Black residents. In "The State of Higher Education for Black Californians," published in…

College transfer has grown to be extremely common in the United States. Approximately three out of every eight (38%) of United States college students now transfer between colleges at some point during their college careers (National Student Clearinghouse Blog, 2018). Transfer is also extremely common within The City University of New York (CUNY)…

Objectives: In this study, we explore the influence of enrolling initially at a community college before transferring to a 4-year institution on the selectivity of the destination 4-year institution. Method: We leverage nationally representative data and a propensity score matching approach to compare the institutional selectivity between students…

Numerous studies have investigated the consequences of vertical transfer on students' higher education outcomes in comparison to "native 4-year students"--those who went straight from high school into a bachelor's program. However, the long-term labor market outcomes for vertical transfer students are understudied. Using…