Understanding engineering transfer students: Demographic characteristics and educational outcomes

Abstract

Transfer students make up a significant share of engineering college graduates, yet their persistence is seldom studied, largely because of the lack of longitudinal data. This analysis used longitudinal data from 11 universities enrolling large numbers of engineering students to investigate the demographic characteristics and educational outcomes of transfer students in engineering relative to non-transfers. We find that students who transfer to four-year engineering programs are more likely to come from under-represented minority groups (URMs) and less likely to be women, although both groups are over-represented at two-year colleges. The findings confirm existing research indicating that, on average, non-transfers outperform transfer students, and non-URMs outperform URMs. But we also find that URM transfers, and especially Black transfers, are no less successful than nontransfer students-indicating that the transfer pathway is an effective bridge to a four-year degree. This is partly true for women transfers who do as well as men but are outperformed by women non-transfers. Finally, we find significant variation in outcomes between full-and part-time students, which may be driving the observed differences by transfer status. Our results should inform debates regarding the efficacy of the transfer pathway in engineering, particularly for women and URMs.

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“…Assessment results indicate persistence of students in these programs to be on par with traditionally admitted engineering students, though factors exist that can impact persistence 26 . Page 26.203.3…”

“…Alternative Paths into Engineering: Some institutions conduct programs to address the needs of transfer students 26 , dual degree students 27 , pre-engineering majors 28 and other preparatory programs to build capacity in engineering [29][30][31] . Assessment results indicate persistence of students in these programs to be on par with traditionally admitted engineering students, though factors exist that can impact persistence 26 .…”

Board # 136 : Developing Pathways for Increasing Retention and Facilitating Transition of Students from HSIs

“…Several studies have shown that two-year college students represent 42% of undergraduate enrollment and are historically over-represented in populations underrepresented in engineering (NSF, 2014;Ogilvie, 2014;Sullivan et al, 2012). In fact, recruiting and retaining 2-year college students has been discussed as an important avenue to help meet the challenge of increasing the number of STEM graduates.…”

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“…Two-year college students represent an increasing proportion of all undergraduate enrollment growing from 43% in 2011 to 46% in 2013 and are historically over-represented populations underrepresented in engineering with over half of the Hispanic (57%), Native American (61%), and Black (52%) college students 4,6,7 . However, students starting in two-year colleges face many challenges, such as a lack of information about clear pathways, supportive policies, and systemic support between two-year and four-year institutions 8,9,10 .…”