Adjustment of Community College Students at a Four-Year University: Role and Relevance of Transfer Student Capital for Student Retention

Abstract

Community colleges play a critical role in the pathway to a baccalaureate degree for millions of students, especially among women and ethnic minorities. This study investigates the complexity of the transfer experience among students who began their postsecondary education at a 2-year college and transferred to a large 4-year university. Specifically, the goal of this study was to move beyond the "transfer shock" concept by examining the role and relevance of "transfer student capital" for student retention. Using the L-TSQ instrument, the 133-item online survey reported data from over 900 students regarding their demographic characteristics, community college experiences, and university experiences. Two hypotheticals were employed to understand the factors that influence academic and social transfer adjustment. The findings of this study inform student affairs professionals, admissions oficers, retention programs, students, and faculty.

Connecting information literacy instruction with transfer student success

“…In applying human capital theory to Pascarella's model, Laanan et al (2010) recognized that transfer students do not transfer in a vacuum. Rather, they bring with them cumulative experiences about how college works: how to choose a major, how to enroll in classes, how to study for exams, how to interact with faculty members, and other aspects of collegiate life.…”

“…This exploratory study asks whether information literacy instruction might contribute to transfer students' successful integration into the academic environments of their campuses. A review of the literature will result in a framework for understanding how information literacy and academic integration are connected, particularly building off Tinto's (1978Tinto's ( , 1993 work on academic integration and off the work of Laanan, Starobin and Eggleston (2010) on transfer student capital. The results of a survey of incoming transfer students at a midsize, comprehensive university are presented and discussed.…”

Transfer Student Pathways to Engineering Degrees: Progress and Preliminary Findings from a Multi-institutional Study Based in Texas

“…This study's data collection and analyses were organized using a framework of transfer student capital 11,12 (see Figure 1). A context-specific extension of social and cultural capital theories, this framework assists researchers in identifying the variables to take into account when studying transfer students.…”

“…Organizing framework for the study. 11,12 Our NSF project has been operationalizing this framework via an explanatory sequential mixed method research approach. We administered an online survey to 7,806 engineering transfer students at four 4-year institutions in Texas (all among the top-10 producers of Hispanic engineers) (see Table 1) and received responses from over 1,070 current transfer students or alumni.…”

“…The sample is unique because it is comprised of a disproportionately large percentage of Hispanic students, which is the fastest growing demographic in the country and a subpopulation that engineering is seeking to attract and support. In ensuring data were collected across all elements of the framework, multiple survey items were compiled from an adaptation of the Laanan-transfer students' questionnaire, 13,14,15 a survey from the NSF-funded Prototype to Production study, 16 and Measuring Constructs of STEM Student Success Literacy: Community College Students' Self-Efficacy, Social Capital, and Transfer Knowledge. 17,18 For a full description of the survey development process, steps that were put into place to support construct validity, and individual campus customization procedures, please see our work in progress At present, partner 4-year institutions are merging individual survey responses with student record data.…”