Attending a two-year college is often seen as a more affordable way to earn a bachelor's degree, especially for first-generation and low-income students. Although practical in theory, most students do not follow that path in practice.
Eighty-three percent of first-time community college students say they plan to transfer to a community college, according to a new report released Tuesday by the Center for Community College Student Engagement (CCCSE), a research effort at the University of Texas at Austin. That's what it means. Even though it's a four-year college, very few people actually do that. The report cites data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center that shows only 32 percent of community college students transfer to their four-year universities.
The report's findings reflect the experiences of 8,836 students surveyed at 40 different community colleges in fall 2022, and find that students encounter difficulties in the transfer process that prevent them from transferring or fail to transfer. It shows that you are making things even more troublesome and irritating.
Despite the growing range of transfer support services in place at community colleges across the country, the report shows that few students feel they are receiving the guidance they need to succeed. ing.
According to the report, nearly half (47%) of community college students surveyed were unaware of transfer services available at their college. Furthermore, even among students who knew about transfer assistance, only 24% said they had used the service.
Linda Garcia, executive director of CCCSE, said that while this pattern is not entirely new, the study's data “expands the situations and challenges that students may face” that pose barriers to the transfer process. “There is,” he said. He called on university administrators to look more deeply into potential solutions, and higher education authorities should start by offering more guidance to students and do it early in their journey. , said it should be made “inevitable.”
“Think about students entering the fall semester. They are inundated with so much information,” she said. “So how do we keep our students connected?”
“It's important to have these conversations early on,” Garcia added.
Elizabeth Cox Brand, executive director of the Oregon Student Success Center, said she was “disappointed” to learn that despite expanded transfer assistance efforts, students are still having trouble transferring. Ta. She said the “million dollar question” is why students aren't taking advantage of the resources available to them. She believes community college leaders should start asking their students that question.
The study found that although Pell grant recipients intended to transfer at the same rate as non-Pell recipients, they were much less likely to actually transfer than higher-income groups, at 25% each. It was also found that 41%.
John Fink, a senior fellow at the Community College Research Center at Columbia University Teachers College, said the transfer process is generally an uphill battle.
“Sometimes I think of it like a DIY transfer route,” Fink said. “They're really solving this problem themselves.”
However, even with community college advice, a smooth transfer is not always guaranteed.
Students who participated in one of the many focus groups that CCCSE has conducted over the past few years (the focus groups were not part of the latest study, but were cited in the report) are from any four-year university. He said that he made it clear to his academic advisor whether he wanted to go on to university. When she met to create a schedule for completing the associate degree program, she asked what she wanted to attend and what subjects she wanted to study.
“We sat there and signed up for classes together,” the student said.But then, “After a week, I [four-year] College…I had to change classes because I was told the list wasn’t accurate. ”
Such miscommunication is often the result of large fluctuations and frequent changes in university transfer requirements, Fink said.
“If you have 10 different college options and a student goes into, say, 10 or 15 of those majors… there are 150 possible combinations,” he explained. “Then he adds six, seven, 800 students to one caseload. We're just creating an impossible situation for advisors.”
The most successful transfer students are often those who know where they want to study and speak directly with an advisor at that university.
“These students kind of understand that. They're saying, 'I need to go straight to the source to get this advice from the university,' and they don't have to do that.” ,” Fink said. It also requires prior knowledge of how the university system works, “so it's not fair at all to have such hidden knowledge about the transfer process,” he added. .
Contacting four-year institutions directly is also the method students are least likely to consult, according to the CCCSE report. According to the report, only 14% of people sought information directly from the four-year university they wanted to attend, compared to 29% who sought information from friends, family, community college instructors (29% each), and university staff (28%). It is said that there were people who relied on it.
Fink and Garcia said while it is up to community colleges to continue to improve their advising programs, four-year colleges, which receive significant state and federal funding and have easier access to resources, can help in the process. He also said that this is important. It's easier for students.
“Transfer is a partnership between community colleges and universities, so the solution needs to be a joint effort,” Fink said.
solutions at work
The Transfer Scholar Network is an example of such a partnership. TSN helps community college students overcome barriers to applying to highly selective universities, while also helping the colleges themselves establish strong student pipelines to increase diversity.
“Many of these four-year colleges are really starting to address the barriers that are actually in their way,” said Adam Rabinowitz, senior communications manager for the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program, who is helping lead the TSN project. . “It's not just dedicated help and support. It's also concrete practice.”
There are no direct benefits to applying as a TSN student, but after being nominated by a community college faculty member, each participant is connected with a dedicated admissions representative to answer questions about the application process. Students also have access to webinars about financial aid, credit transfer, and the student experience.
Of the students who have applied to at least one selective institution so far, about 20% have been accepted. This is 5 points higher than the average acceptance rate for general applicants at the same institution.
“The idea is that if the network can act as a platform for students to learn more, we will be able to support students who would otherwise be well-qualified at our institutions but would not know about it,” Adam said.・Mr. Sapp said. , Assistant Vice President for Admissions at Pomona College and Selected Partner of TSN.
Other successful partnerships include ADVANCE and DirectConnect at the University of Central Florida. Both are dual admission partnerships, allowing students to earn an associate's degree at a community college and then seamlessly transition to a four-year university without the need for additional applications. ADVANCE is offered at Northern Virginia Community College and George Mason University, and Direct Connect is offered at UCF and several two-year institutions in Florida.
Cox Brand of the Oregon Student Success Center said the study's findings align with the core pillars of Guided Pathways, which are designed to help students explore, select, plan and complete programs that align with their goals. I see that there are.
However, the CCCSE survey found that more than half of students who said they intended to transfer lacked a clear vision of where they wanted to study, what they wanted to major in, or both. “At Guided Pathways, this is one of our first principles: Help students understand what they want to do and connect them with people who have the information,” Coxbrand said. . “If we don't set students on the right path early on, they're much less likely to be successful once they get started.”