No abstract

Objective: This study seeks to expand understanding of transfer student capital (TSC), including sources of TSC and how TSC is used by community college transfer students to navigate transfer to a public, 4-year institution. Method: Using the TSC framework, a descriptive case study design was employed. Data sources include 17 transfer student interviews, eight observations of pre-transfer meetings between students and advisors, and a review of documents. Data were analyzed inductively and deductively using a pattern matching coding technique. Results: Family and peers appear to be the most common way that students gain TSC to navigate the transfer process. High schools also provide critical transfer information to students. Transfer advisors and faculty either at community colleges or 4-year colleges sometimes provide important transfer information but serve in a critical role of building students’ self-efficacy for transfer rather than merely passing along transfer information. Contributions: This study indicates that high schools, family members, and peers are influential sources of TSC, in addition to previously well-understood sources, such as community college faculty and transfer advisors. This study introduces a new term, self-efficacy for transfer, and offers an expanded TSC conceptual model.

The purpose of this study is to understand the relationship between pre-transfer advising and the development of transfer student capital (TSC) for students who have transferred from community college to a four-year university. Using TSC as a framework, this qualitative case study seeks to identify the roles that pre-transfer advisors at community colleges and universities have in students' transfer processes. In this study, we find that advisors can play a critical role in building students' TSC and supporting students' self-efficacy. We also find that students indicate that advisors sometimes provide conflicting information or that advising can often be inaccessible to students, which can lead to self-advising. Implications and recommendations are discussed.

This study utilizes an extensive panel data set spanning 15 years (2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017)(2018) and 752 public community colleges to investigate operating costs and persistent cost efficiency at public community colleges in the United States. We employ a generalized true random effects (GTRE) regression model that takes into account spatial correlation of costs among community colleges, to estimate cost efficiency via stochastic frontier analysis (SFA). The results reveal a positive relationship between operating costs and associate degrees and certificates as well both human (part-and full-time faculty) and financial resources (local, state and federal funding and tuition revenue), controlling for other variables. Furthermore, with an average persistent (long-term) efficiency of 87%, few institutions are relatively cost inefficient. Moving forward, campus leaders and policy makers alike may consider yearly data and efficiency calculations to develop strategic plans and funding alternatives. With 40 percent of first-time students transferring at least once within six years and over half of those students transfer from a community college, future research may study cost efficiency of community colleges while accounting for student transfers as an output.