Elements of Effective Transfer Associate Degrees

Abstract

In recent years, a convergence of several forces-increased legislative involvement in higher education, governmental and philanthropic pressure to increase postsecondary degree and certifi cate production, demands for a highly trained workforce, and fi scal belt-tightening at colleges and universities across America-has resulted in efforts to signifi cantly reform community college-to-university transfer and articulation processes. One increasingly popular method of reform is the implementation of transfer associate degrees: statewide pathways or degree programs that allow students to both earn an associate degree from a community college and transfer seamlessly into a state university with junior status. (Note: These degrees are known by different names in different states, but for the purposes of clarity, we refer to all of them as transfer associate degrees.)The reasons for implementing transfer associate degrees are myriad. From an effi ciency standpoint, states view these transfer pathways as vehicles for aligning lower-division general education and premajor curricula across two-and four-year institutions, thereby reducing course overlap and the need to repeat similar courses after transferring. In addition, there is emerging evidence that transfer associate degrees better prepare community college students for upper-division work, and that students transferring with such degrees are more likely to persist at a university, complete a greater number of credit hours, and pass more courses (Hezel Associates, 2007;Kisker, Wagoner, and Cohen, 2011;Mustafa, Glenn, and Compton, 2010). Furthermore, recent data show that transfer associate degrees in 1

Using Ethnography to Understand How Policy Reform Influences the Transfer Process at One Community College

“…In recent years, articulation policies have increasingly followed state-mandated reform models known as "Transfer Associate Degrees" (Kisker et al, 2012;Mosholder & Zirkle, 2007). Similar to traditional articulation agreements, these state-mandated policies allow students to earn an associate degree and seamlessly transfer into a state university with junior status.…”

“…Yet, in practice, the transfer function has not worked as intended, and has become more complex and unclear over the years (Ignash & Townsend, 2001;Mosholder & Zirkle, 2007). Over the last decade, research has indicated a decline in transfer rates from community colleges to four-year institutions (Anderson, Sun, & Alfonso, 2006;Kisker et al, 2012;Levin & Kanter, 2013;Townsend, 2007).…”

“…Institutional participation ranges from entirely voluntary to legally binding, depending on the type of articulation agreement. The nature of the agreement further impacts the effectiveness of these policies from state to state (Kisker et al, 2012).…”

“…To address low rates of transfer success, state policymakers across the nation have enacted various reform policies, such as curricular redesign, common course-naming, and system-to-system articulation agreements (Kisker, Wagoner, & Cohen, 2012). The most recent reform strategy has called for developing associate degrees designed specifically for transfer, which provide students with built-in guarantees, including full articulation of course credits, upperclassmen status, and prearranged major courses to more quickly complete a bachelor's degree (LaSota & Zumeta, 2016).…”

A Methodology for Determining the Transferability Rate of Courses

“…One empirical study that looked at curriculum in relation to transfer, examined the proportion of liberal arts courses offered at 52 colleges and the correlation of this proportion with the colleges' respective transfer rates, for which there was a significant correlation (Armstrong & Mellissinos, 1994). Authors by the plethora of interventions devised to increase transfer credit acceptance (Harper-Marinick & Swarthout, 2012;Kisker, Wagoner, & Cohen, 2012).…”