Half of all students who begin college in America--and an even higher proportion of underrepresetned minorities--matriculate at community colleges. If the bachelor's degree is a requisite for major social and economic advancement, then transfer must be an essential community college mission. Calculating the transfer rate is important as a measure…

This paper discusses student transfer from community colleges to universities from three perspectives: 1) How are transfer rates calculated? 2) What are the effects of state and institutional policies on transfer rates? and 3) Why are the transfer rates in some colleges consistently above or below the norm for their state? Each topic is discussed…

In 1989, the Transfer Assembly project was initiated by the Center for the Study of Community Colleges (CSCC) to determine the contribution of community colleges to students' progress towards baccalaureate degrees. In that year, 48 community colleges provided data on students, with transfers defined as students with no prior college experience who…

Examines the rate of student transfer from community colleges to four-year colleges as measured by the Transfer Assembly project. Indicates that 22.6% of students who began their postsecondary education in community colleges and completed at least four courses there enrolled in a university within four years. (MAB)

This article focuses on the transfer of students from California community colleges to four-year colleges and universities. Following a brief introduction to laws and procedures specified upon the inception of community colleges in California in 1910, and a recognition of the difficulty in student transfer throughout the history of higher…

This paper discusses several aspects of the community college role in providing access to further studies: ways of calculating transfer rates and estimates of the number of students making the transition, incentives for and inhibitors of student transfer as reflected in state policy and institutional practice, and a look to the future of community…

Describes a multiyear national effort by the Center for the Study of Community Colleges to stabilize a definition of transfer rates and collect data on student transfer from community colleges to four-year institutions. Presents preliminary findings and reactions to the study/findings by college practitioners. Advises simplicity and efficiency.…

A discussion is presented of Hispanic community college students and the prospects and problems related to their transfer to four-year institutions and progress toward the baccalaureate degree. First, the question of Hispanic student transfer rates is placed in the context of community college enrollment/transfer patterns in general and Hispanic…

Discusses the economic, demographic, and curricular trends likely to have an impact on the transfer rate. Indicates that the transfer rate should increase because of lower numbers of first-year students accepted by universities, funding cuts for avocational courses for adults, and an increase in the number of 18-year olds. (MAB)

The Center for the Study for Community Colleges has examined community colleges in terms of the transfer function for over two decades, initiating the Transfer Assembly project in 1989 to collect hard, comparative data on transfer outcomes. In fall 1995, California's Cerritos College approached the Center for assistance in increasing its transfer…

The Center for the Study of Community Colleges (CSCC) in Los Angeles, California has examined transfer data for students at two-year institutions from 1984 through 1987. In the CSCC studies, transfer rates are calculated by dividing the number of students entering a community college with no prior college experience and completing at least 12…

Reports on the Transfer Assembly, created to calculate student transfer rate from community colleges to public, in-state, four-year colleges or universities within four years. A consistent transfer rate over the past eight years suggests that community colleges are effectively serving as the postsecondary entry point for 22% of their students.…

Inconsistencies in the definition of transfer from two-year to four-year institutions and in the calculation of the transfer rate have given rise to incongruous findings. For example, one researcher in 1989 reported a transfer rate of less than 12% for the colleges in Illinois at the same time that the Chancellor's Office of the California…

This discussion of the transfer function of California's community colleges focuses on the problems of obtaining reliable information, research findings on factors affecting transfer success, and ways of accurately assessing transfer rates. After affirming the importance of the transfer function of community colleges, the paper examines flaws and…

When compared with university freshmen, students beginning their collegiate studies at community colleges are less likely to attain a baccalaureate degree. After equating for differences in students' entering abilities, socioeconomic background, employment status, on-campus residence, and pattern of attendance, however, this discrepancy narrows.…