National Trends with Transfer Students

Spring Advisor Day 2010Illinois State University

Thomas J. Grites, Ph.D.Assistant to the Provost

Richard Stockton College of New Jersey

(ISU Alum, 1966 and 1967)

• Transfer students constitute the largest single special population of students on campuses today. Nearly 60% of all students are transfers, and nearly 75% of all who graduate each year have some transfer credit. (Adelman, 2006)

• Approximately 5 million new entering community college students plan to transfer to earn a bachelor’s degree each year.(Provasnik & Planty, 2008)

• Almost 20% of new entering four-year college students are transfer students.(Berkner & Choy, 2008)

• Yet they are often the most neglected…why?

• Most national, state, and local comparative data are based upon:

Admission Profile (ACT/SAT) Second Year Retention Rates Six-Year Graduation Rates

of first-time full-time (freshman) students…yet

25-30% of first-year freshmen do not return to their first (four-year)

institution for the second year.

(ACT, 2008)

Future conditions for transfer students and the institutions they attend

• More legislation and regulation • More distance education and modalities for such• More degree completion programs off the site of

the degree-granting institution• More dual admission and dual credit options• More accountability, assessment• Less funding• Effects on the quality of education???

Spring Advisor Day 2010

Illinois State University

Thomas J. Grites, Ph.D.Assistant to the Provost

Richard Stockton College of New Jersey

(ISU Alum, 1966 and 1967)

“We are still admitting students on the unrestricted certification system, because they have been at least barely satisfactory students in some accredited college. On this plan, thousands of mere parrot learners ambitious to lead the life of culture or of academic tradition are encouraged to go on spending their time and money until the college or graduate school, out of very shame for its own laxity, cannot muster the courage to refuse them degrees. And yet a reasonable study of traits and abilities of these persons as individuals would show early in their college career that they have nothing to contribute to the advancement of knowledge or culture, either in research or through teaching, and that it is nothing short of downright injustice to encourage them to go on to certain and pitiable failure.”

Johnston, J. B. (1931).

Undergraduate migration.

The Journal of Higher Education, 2(9), 471-80.

Comparison of First-Year Freshman vs. Transfer Students

• Recruitment efforts• Criteria for admission• Orientation program• “First-Year Experience”• $$$• Learning Outcomes (Gen Ed)

Preparing students for transfer

• Is the student ready to be admitted?• Has the student connected with the new school,

academic department, and major?• Does the student understand how they will finance the

rest of the education?• Has the student considered the new routine,

expectations, and other aspects of the new school?• Is the student using the available academic resources?

As first-year transfer students (from a two-year or from another four- year institution) onto a new campus, things are different, including…

• Campus geography • Vocabulary• Academic policies and

procedures• Academic standards• Faculty expectations • Peer groups• Advising structures• Computer systems• Course scheduling• Culture and traditions

(Grites and Rondeau, 2009)

The cumulative effect of which results in…

the phenomenon known as

“TRANSFER SHOCK”

which often results in a lower first-term GPA.

A New Concern – The Fear Factor

An emerging condition found in first-time community college enrollees (and possible residual effect at the 4-year level), which consists of feelings of…

Academic inadequacy, especially in writing and math

Intimidation by their perceptions of the “super-knowledgeable” faculty they would encounter

The very nature of the courses and subject matter in which they would be challenged(Cox, 2009)

Other Reasons for Neglect

• Assumptions • Generalizations

Students• Overconfidence – they’ve already been college

students…don’t want it; don’t need it; learning environment will be the same

• “At my other school” syndrome – they tend to act on the rules, policies, procedures, and other conditions that were in place there

• Underconfidence – sense of being out of place; everyone already knows what to do (fear factor?)

• Less engaged – they tend to feel ignored and don’t have a sense of belonging

Institutions

• Overestimation – they’ve already been to college so they need less attention

• Underestimation – they did not begin as freshmen, so certain academic (or other) options are unavailable to them (e.g., Honors)

• Overgeneralization – “one size fits all” and all transfers have similar expectations, needs, skill levels, etc.

“…a lack of assessment data can sometimes lead to policies and practices based on intuition, prejudice, preconceived notions, or personal proclivities – none of them desirable bases for making decisions” (p. 20)

(Upcraft and Schuh,2002)

Other factors that affect transfer students and campus efforts- Legislation

Federal:

• Accreditation Status• Unit Record System• Special Funding

State:

• Guaranteed Admission• Guaranteed Credit/Time

to Degree• Common Numbering• Common Curriculum

• Course-to-Course• Program-to-

Program

Articulation: acceptability, equivalency, applicability

Issues

• How many students used it?

• How often was it reviewed/updated?

• Is the curriculum (General Education and major components) consistent for all students in that degree program?

• Is the agreement reciprocal?

• Is it working?

Review of campus transfer student

programs• Orientation – timing, purpose,

content, expected results

• Ongoing contact and assistance; available resources; residential accommodations

• “Transfer Student Experience” extended into academic year

Recommendations

• Know your transfer students – collect data and be sure to distinguish among the diversity they represent.

• Review your policies, procedures, practices, and programs to best enable transfer students to succeed in their new environment.

• Develop a “culture of transfer” (Adelman, 2008)

• Develop a systematic transitional program, e.g., a Transfer Student Seminar course or workshop format.

Seminar examples• Illinois State – 1-credit; voluntary; on-line• Rutgers University – 1-credit; required for all new

transfers• Baruch College (CUNY) – 4-week non-credit

seminar; optional• Richard Stockton – regular courses restricted to new

transfers; optional• Pima CC – 1-credit course for students transferring

to the University of Arizona; optional• University of Southern Mississippi – 2-credit

transition course; optional• UMBC – 1-credit, P/F Transfer Success Seminar, linked

to a major course (pilot Fall 2008)

Seminar anecdotes (4-year students)• “I felt intimidated in my other classes.”

• “I thought this was just going to be another class…I learned much more than I expected.”

• “Our group stopped being just classmates and started to become friends.”

• “I thought I was just going to sit in class, learn, and leave just as I did at my community college. I never thought I would actually become involved in school.”

• “I would never have attended anything if it had not been for this class.”

Seminar Anecdotes (2-year students)

• “This class will help you throughout your transition to the University. It is one of the best classes you will have in your college education.”

• “Taking this course helped me a lot. Transferring to the University can be overwhelming. I believe that with the right information and guidance, any transition can be made easier.”

“Over and above all that one can learn from a study of student marks and achievement records stands a knowledge of the student’s personal traits, his interests, his special abilities, and his handicaps. To take these things into account in advising, the student is the duty of the secondary teacher and the faculty of the college which the student enters first. Doubtless one student should be definitely advised against migration, while another with the same record on the books should be strongly encouraged to move for the sake of facilities, surroundings, and opportunities which are better for him. The study of these factors will require time, insight, and effort, but the effort will be well repaid if the study is motivated by an interest in the individual student.” (Johnston, 1931, p. 480)

…and for their academic advisors

Selected References

• ACT. 2008 Retention/Completion Summary Tables.• Adelman, C. (2006). The Toolbox Revisited: Paths to Degree Completion From

High School Through College. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.• Adelman, C. (2008). Turning Nomads into Transfers. Retrieved Dec. 12, 2009

from http://www.aacrao.org/transfer/Cliff_Adelman.pdf• Berkner, L. & Choy, S. (2008). Descriptive Summary of 2003-04 Beginning

Postsecondary Students: Three Years Later (NCES 2008-174). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.

• Cox, R.D. (2009). The College Fear Factor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press

• Grites, T. J. & Rondeau, S. (2009). Transfer Student Companion. New York: Houghton-Mifflin.

• Johnston, J. B. (1931). Undergraduate Migration. The Journal of Higher Education, 2(9), 471-480.

• Kerr, T. J., King, M. C. & Grites, T. J. (2004). Advising Transfer Students: Issues and Strategies. Monograph Series, Number 12. Manhattan, KS: National Academic Advising Association.

• Noel-Levitz (2009), selected slides used with permission.• Provasnik, S. & Planty, M. (2008). Community Colleges: Special Supplement to

the Condition of Education 2008 (NCES 2008-033). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.

• Upcraft, M.L. and Schuh, J.H. (2002) Assessment vs. Research: Why Should We Care About the Difference. About Campus, Vol.7, No.1, 16-20.

THANK YOU!