Historically, the most common type of transfer student was described as traditional; they enrolled in a community college, earned an associate's degree, and transitioned to a four-year institution for degree completion. The highest degree of departure from one institution to the next occurs within the second year of enrollment (Hossler, et al.…

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…

This study examines college choice decisions of students admitted to the University of California (UC) and the relationship between these choices and degree attainment. It does so using a dataset that combines UC administrative data with National Student Clearinghouse data on enrollment and degree attainment. It first discusses how academic and…

Legislation and litigation to end desegregation in higher education and improve college choice to HBCUs abound while academic programs continue to impact college choice. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the influence of Maryland's dual system of public higher education on college choice, specifically through community college…

Latina community college students face significant barriers in achieving their educational goals, particularly transferring to 4-year institutions. Despite comprising a large and growing demographic within community colleges, their unique needs and experiences often remain unaddressed. This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of…

Community colleges serve many critical purposes for residents within their local service areas by providing relatively low-cost (Ma & Pender, 2023), open-access postsecondary education and workforce-focused training (Jacobs & Worth, 2019). A recent national survey of previously enrolled community college students finds that "gaining…

The Institute for Higher Education Policy's (IHEP) Equitable Value Explorer (EVE) data tool provides measures of economic value based on students' post-college earnings relative to the state in which their postsecondary institution is located. Such a broad geographic unit, however, may lead to inadequate comparisons for institutions like community…

The 2024 Articulation and Transfer Report provides an update on the progress made toward full articulation between public institutions in Tennessee. This report uses data from National Student Clearinghouse Student Tracker (NSC), the Tennessee Higher Education Commission's Student Information System (THECSIS), and the Tennessee Board of Regents…

The transfer between two-year and four-year colleges is a critical path to baccalaureate attainment. Yet students face a number of barriers in transfer pathways, including a lack of coherent coordination and articulation between their community colleges and four-year institutions, resulting in excess units and increased time to degree. In this…

A study of hidden risks, anxieties and barriers to STEM student transfer from community college to a large, comprehensive university is presented. This qualitative study employed a thematic analysis of student responses to a semi-structured interview that asked students about their hesitancy to transfer to a 4-year institution. Participants…

This document includes two technical appendices that accompany the full report, "Increasing Community College Transfers: Progress and Barriers." The two appendixes include: (1) Data and Methods; and (2) Figures and Tables. [For the full report, "Increasing Community College Transfers: Progress and Barriers," see ED608004.]

For nearly three decades, public colleges and universities in the United States have suffered a sharp decline in the level of state funding that they receive (Chronicle, 2014). As a result, in order to remain not even competitive but simply financially stable, institutions of higher education have found it necessary to seek other means and sources…

The CUNY Research Scholars Program (CRSP) has provided year-long mentored research experiences for 1678 associate's degree STEM students since 2014. The pluralities (32%) of mentors, all of whom are full-time faculty, have been biologists. Other represented disciplines include, but are not limited to, chemistry, engineering, mathematics,…

One frequently cited yet understudied channel through which money matters for college students is course availability--colleges may respond to budgetary pressure by reducing course offerings. Open admissions policies, binding class size constraints, and heavy reliance on state funding may make this channel especially salient at community colleges,…

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between student characteristics and student retention in a predominantly online college using data from two cohorts of entering students in either 2017-2018 or 2018-2019. Due to the dichotomous nature of the dependent variable indicating retention, this study relied on the point biserial…