Transfer-bound community college students’ biology identity and perception of teaching

Abstract

Community colleges are frequently an affordable, accessible entrance to a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and career, but the transition from a 2-year program to a 4-year institution can be tumultuous. In this mixed-methods study, we explore the experiences of transfer and prospective transfer students. Through surveys and interviews, we identify the challenges faced by and the supports desired by biology transfer students. We describe how community college students perceive their introductory biology courses, and we compare the biology identity and self-efficacy of these students to peers at a 4-year institution. Students expressed uncertainty about what to expect from the transfer experience, and they benefitted from interventions that made the university experience more concrete or clarified their expectations. We found that community college students are just as interested in biology as peers at a 4-year university, but they are significantly less likely to believe that others recognize them as “biology people” and report less self-efficacy regarding biology courses. Students felt particularly well-prepared for transfer after community college biology courses they described as “rigorous” and “demanding,” especially because students expressed that the community college environment helped support them through the challenges of higher education.

Peer mentorship and academic supports build sense of community and improve outcomes for transfer students

“…Based on this theoretical foundation and preliminary surveys on the needs of students at our institution ( 36 ), we developed the program Pre-transfer Interventions, Mentoring, and Experience in Research (PRIMER) to improve the outcomes of transfer students in the biology department of our institution. The scope of the program was limited to biology and biochemistry majors, as those are the majors housed in the department creating this program, with the idea that if successful outcomes could be found in these students, then this program could potentially be expanded to other departments.…”

“…The program included three “levels” of interventions: biology course adjustments and advising opportunities for pre-transfer at a partner community college, mentoring and academic support for transfer students at the 4-year institution, and opportunities for transfer students to participate in research at the 4-year institution. Here, we focus on the mentoring and academic support level; the other two levels are described elsewhere ( 37 ).…”