In a six-year study interviewing 104 transfer-intending students, Jabbar, an associate professor at the , said viewing transfer issues solely as a community college problem only 鈥渕oves the needle a little bit.鈥�

鈥淎 lot of these existing reforms that focus on community colleges do help,鈥� Jabbar told 社区黑料. 鈥淏ut it doesn’t address the larger problem if universities are not helping students.鈥�

The students, who attended either Central Community College or the Fernando Community College System in Texas, experienced many difficulties in transferring 鈥� from credit loss to inadequate career advising.

鈥淐ommunity colleges don’t have the power to say whether those credits subsequently transfer or whether the student is admitted to a university,鈥� Schudde, an associate professor at , told 社区黑料. 

鈥淎nd if that information is not readily available or changes, then any guidance they have offered to students goes out the window.鈥�

In their 鈥淒iscredited: Power, Privilege, and Community College Transfer,鈥� Schudde and Jabbar argue that transfer policy is a complex public higher education issue rather than an isolated community college problem.

鈥淢ost research is really focused on the hurdles, the information problems and the barriers within community colleges,鈥� Jabbar said. 鈥淸But] we can’t solve the problem of community college transfer without also holding universities accountable and bringing them in.鈥�

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The book began with the story of Teresa 鈥� a Latina, 19-year-old community college student raised in Texas 鈥� who planned to transfer to a four-year college but was left confused about the steps she needed to take to do so. Can you tell me more about how her experience speaks broadly to the often confusing student-transfer pathway?

Jabbar: There were so many stories, but Teresa exemplified the kinds of experiences that we heard and revealed it wasn’t just that there were hurdles along the way. Oftentimes we hear about students鈥� life experiences, such as working to support family members, that are obviously barriers to transfer. But there were also these institutional barriers 鈥� and not just at the community college level.

For Teresa, it was after she transferred that she was like 鈥榳ait a minute, these policies don’t line up.鈥� And she expressed the frustration that a lot of our students felt when she talked about how she wished these institutions would just get together and come up with some kind of agreement that would make the process more streamlined. That’s why we highlighted her story.

Schudde: I would add that in a lot of research she might be viewed as a success story. Most research looks at transfer-intending students and if they transferred. But when you only look at this you miss everything that happens in the process. 

As we followed students, we did get to see some actually graduate and get their bachelor’s degree. But Teresa鈥檚 case helped us highlight that even the success story has things that go on within it that are really challenging for students to deal with.

Your work takes a closer look into more than 100 transfer-intending community college students who attended either Central Community College or the Fernando Community College System in Texas. Was there a reason why you sampled this student population?

Schudde: Huriya and I worked together at The University of Texas at Austin in the department for education leadership and policy. Huriya started there a year before me and was working on a project studying community college students that were interested in transferring. When I arrived, I was working on a project that was studying the personnel who worked with those transfer students to understand how they’re making sense of transfer policies in Texas.

We started talking and realized we could merge these two things. She also had a sample of over 100 community college students 鈥� that’s a big deal. So we ended up pursuing more funding and followed those students for six years.

The majority of students in the sample identified as Latino because that is what the majority of students in Texas, particularly at community colleges, identify as. And most students in the sample also come from low-income families.

Jabbar: In most states, the vast majority of students starting at a community college are low-income students and often students of color. So in many ways our sample aligns with the general population of community colleges across the country.

The book illustrates how transfer success is closely tied to how well college institutions confront 鈥渙vert and hidden barriers鈥� 鈥� from credit loss to flaws in career advising. From your research, where do you see the largest opportunities for college leaders at two-year and four-year institutions to improve their transfer outcomes?

Jabbar: We see the problem as somewhat different than it has been talked about in the past. Most research is really focused on the hurdles, the information problems and the barriers within community colleges. Our argument is that we can’t solve the problem of community college transfer without also holding universities accountable and bringing them in. We need to move from viewing this as a community college problem to a public higher education problem.

Schudde: So many of the reforms to date have focused on community colleges and it’s like moving the needle the tiniest amount. That’s because the community colleges don’t have the power to say whether those credits subsequently transfer or whether the student is admitted to a university. And if that information is not readily available or changes, then any guidance they have offered to students goes out the window. It had no meaning. 

There’s a bunch of one-off solutions where we could say to every university 鈥榳e really want you to build these reliable transfer agreements with your most common feeder community colleges鈥� but it feels like those recommendations have not been effective in the past. Especially because some of the most powerful universities feel like 鈥榳ell why should I have to do that?鈥� And we’re talking about public universities here where they should think of themselves as part of this public higher education ecosystem. 

What we would like to see is a mandate for an associate degree that transfers. Something that would allow someone from a community college to move into a public university and know that they’re going to be at junior status as long as they have the 60 credits. That would require action from university actors because they would have to decide how those credits count.

The reason why I’m emphasizing some sort of state government action is because there’s been all this research the past several decades about community college transfer but no action has happened when it’s left up to universities. They don’t have incentives to do that. There’s also this tension between whose credits are going to count towards the degree because there’s money involved. There would need to be some legislative action, which we’ve seen in some states, that would require university actors to make these changes and take some accountability.

My understanding is that a majority of Texas community colleges utilize the guided pathways advising model. How has this influenced the transfer student experience?

Schudde: When we first started talking to students, that was when the guided pathways advising model was coming out. There was some movement but the community colleges had not fully adopted it when the first and second wave of interviews started. Around the third year we started seeing staff mentioning that the advising models were changing. 

That guidance has been helping but something we do say in the book is that the challenge is still there. If all the community colleges are adopting this but the university that a student goes to is unaware or doesn’t care to know what classes they took, then it doesn’t necessarily help the student. 

That thread has to carry all the way through into the bachelor’s degree. So for this reform to actually make a large impact on getting a bachelor’s degree, we need to see the universities are also adopting, or at least recognizing, those courses that they have to take in their first two years.

Jabbar: A lot of these existing reforms that focus on community colleges do help and move the needle a little bit. Students are getting better advising, or more frequent advising, and they鈥檙e being guided while in community college. But it doesn’t address the larger problem if universities are not helping students.

Schudde: Guided pathways is probably the biggest reform community colleges have seen in a long time. But in most cases I don’t know if it’s getting to the university. Unless it’s a university that works really closely with their local community college, it doesn’t seem like a lot of them are really aware that students are being guided to take this set of core courses. Which means that, ideally, those core courses would also be the universities prerequisites for the major鈥檚 coursework. So that’s why that connection to the next set of institutions is so important.

It goes without saying that racial and socioeconomic equity and access in higher education plays a role in transfer success. How does this tie in with the findings in your book?

Schudde: The reason why this ties in so much with ongoing conversations, especially about racial equity in higher education, is because universities aren’t really able to use all the same tools that they used to use in admissions processes. We have this other public higher education system, community colleges, that have really had a democratizing effect 鈥� allowing greater access for students from low-income families to students of color. Historically, that’s who they’re serving. 

We didn鈥檛 necessarily see major differences across race but there were some across social class. There were some students who had more connections to other people that had navigated the transfer process and been to a university. Those sorts of things helped them figure out who to talk to and what they needed to know in order to take the right classes. 

The gist of our argument, and how it relates to equity, is we need to make these pathways easier to navigate. Under the current context, it’s not easy for them to do that which means we’re really limiting the power of our higher education systems to help with social mobility.

Jabbar: The goal would be that policy remedies can help address the uneven information access and social capital that students coming in have. Institutions should be able to address that and even it out. The existing system is really disadvantageous to community college students who seek to get a bachelor’s degree. 

We really do believe institutions can support students in achieving those goals, but right now they’re not. And because they are disproportionately low-income and students of color that’s where they reproduce existing inequities.

After working on this book, what would you say was your most surprising takeaway?

Jabbar: The main argument of this book is not something I thought we were going to make going into it. I really thought we were going to focus on community colleges. What are the barriers within community colleges? And how can we improve systems within community colleges? I don’t think I realized just how powerful universities were in creating some of the problems that we were seeing in the community colleges. So it was a surprise to me when we looked at the data.

Schudde: Some of the things that surprised me was how candid some of the university actors are when we talked to them about this. So it’s not that I’m surprised by the findings, but I expected some of them to be more guarded about it. It was very explicit in some conversations where it’s basically complete acknowledgement of gatekeeping. That was shocking for me.

What鈥檚 something people aren鈥檛 talking enough about regarding the state of transfer policies?

Schudde: I would say more questions about how we change the minds of university actors. And this is not to say I believe they have ill will. This idea of gatekeeping is very much them prioritizing what they see as maintaining the rigor of their programs. Huriya and I are both university faculty so we鈥檝e seen what it’s like to be on this side. We have those conversations. It happens. 

A lot of the burden turns back to what community colleges can do whereas I believe the bigger question is how we get the universities to be willing partners. Or at least be policy change compliance partners and help them see that there are some benefits for everyone if we make these changes.

Jabbar: There might be some interest convergence opportunities here with the bans on affirmative action and institutions still committed to admitting a diverse population. If we can help them see that community colleges could be one pathway to doing that, that’s one place to shift their perceptions. 

One of the big things for me that is interesting about this study is understanding the cost of decentralized policies that give more autonomy and flexibility, but often put the burden on historically marginalized students and families. 

Schudde: Our proposal is basically trying to centralize some of these decisions. The processes would still remain within a university, but they would be mandated to take those community college credits and could still have the autonomy to decide how they count. Especially in Texas, which is a state that has really prioritized institutional autonomy and decentralization, that might be a harder pill to swallow than in some other contexts. 

I do agree with Huriya that we could really see it play out at the individual level. Not just students but also advisors at the community colleges and universities are trying to make sense of every institution’s set of policies. It’s just not manageable at the individual level so there’s a reason why there are benefits to centralizing some of these decisions.

Benjamin Gregory, a former community college student, managed to graduate with an associate degree and transfer to a four-year school despite the challenges of enrolling as an older student.

And for Loren Van Tilburg, earning a four-year degree came to a halt when he left college and started his own automobile business.

From financial concerns to questioning the need of a four-year degree, Jennifer, Benjamin and Loren represent many students who were left unprepared to make their college decisions as the path to earn a four-year degree continues to be riddled with barriers.

鈥淚f you have some understanding of what you want to make of yourself and you have a plan to apply your skills, leaving college can be the best thing for you,鈥� said Loren, who like many of his peers has had a growing interest in immediate employment and apathy for a four-year education.

Here are the experiences that led to Jennifer, Benjamin and Loren鈥檚 college decisions:

Jennifer Toledo, 19

Northwest Vista College

Growing up in Mexico, Jennifer always wanted to live in the U.S. and finally got her chance when she moved to San Antonio, Texas by herself when she was 15 years old.

But there were challenges 鈥� including when her high school stopped offering ESL classes 鈥� forcing her to learn English and complete schoolwork on her own.

鈥淚t was hard,鈥� Jennifer told 社区黑料. 鈥淚 was using the translator on my computer [because] I didn鈥檛 know how to say anything.鈥�

But Jennifer鈥檚 experience changed when she took an education class in high school and the teacher helped her learn English.

Intending to join the U.S. Navy post-high school, Jennifer鈥檚 teacher encouraged her to enroll in classes at Northwest Vista College instead.

Today, Jennifer has earned her associate degree in teaching and will transfer to The University of Texas at San Antonio in the fall.

Her goal is to earn a bachelor鈥檚 degree in bilingual education so she can teach the ESL classes she was unable to receive as a high school student.

鈥淚 really want to help students,鈥� Jennifer said. 鈥淚 want to be that teacher who speaks and teaches them English.鈥�

But Jennifer said navigating her transfer experience was 鈥渟tressful鈥� because she was balancing her studies with working part-time at a local middle school.

鈥淎t some point, I wanted to quit [and] go back to Mexico to stay with my family because of the stress,鈥� Jennifer said.

Jennifer attributes the counseling offered at her community college as one of the support systems that helped her stay afloat.

鈥淚 needed help, I needed someone to listen to me and tell me 鈥榶ou’re okay, everything’s going to be fine,鈥欌�� Jennifer said.

Her hope for other students is that they don鈥檛 allow their inability to speak English to hinder their higher education goals.

鈥淚 want to demonstrate to my family, and to everyone, that it鈥檚 possible,鈥� Jennifer said. 鈥淚 want to be an inspiration for them so they know there鈥檚 no limit to what they can do.鈥�

Benjamin Gregory, 27

The University of Texas at San Antonio

Benjamin graduated high school in 2014 and enrolled at Texas A&M University where he majored in aerospace engineering.

But he was more focused on getting a 鈥淧hD in partying鈥� and left school after a semester to join the workforce.

He spent three years working as a Target employee followed by one year as a mall security guard 鈥� where a physical altercation with a thief altered his life.

鈥淏eing a security guard was such a terrible experience for me because I hate being mean to people,鈥� Benjamin told 社区黑料. 鈥淚 got reprimanded for laying my hands on someone who on the [security footage] obviously attacked me and I ended up quitting my job.鈥�

His parents encouraged him to 鈥済ive college another shot.鈥�

鈥淭his path working an hourly job as a security guard and as a retail worker wasn’t for me. I really didn鈥檛 like doing it, but it was just something I had to do to live, pay for food and rent and all that,鈥� Benjamin said. 鈥淚 just wanted a clean slate.鈥�

In 2019, Benjamin enrolled at Northwest Vista College and eventually transferred to The University of Texas at San Antonio where he majored in mechanical engineering.

鈥淚 went from working a job where I didn’t really have to do anything besides walk around a mall鈥o having homework again,鈥� Benjamin said, adding how grateful he was to have a second chance to take courses in what he is truly passionate about.

But navigating college as an older student without a paycheck came with challenges 鈥� most notably how to pay tuition on top of his other bills, including car payments and credit card debt.

鈥淚 didn’t know if I was actually going to be able to stick with it the whole time,鈥� Benjamin said. 鈥淏ut fortunately enrolling in community college first was significantly cheaper and a lot more relaxed because [professors] know there鈥檚 other things outside of school that students have to worry about.鈥�

Enrolling in community college first offered him a better transition back into higher education, he added.

鈥淭he class sizes were so much smaller so you could get to know your professor very easily,鈥� Benjamin said. 鈥淎nd they don鈥檛 really do research at a community college so they were a lot more excited to show up to class than a lot of professors you will meet in a university.鈥�

Benjamin recently graduated with his bachelor鈥檚 degree and will continue his studies at The University of Texas at San Antonio 鈥� but instead of a 鈥淧hD in partying鈥� he鈥檒l be working towards a doctorate in chemical engineering.

鈥淚 know that classes can sometimes suck鈥ut I鈥檝e been in the workforce without a degree and I know that sucked a lot more,鈥� Benjamin said. 

鈥淚鈥檓 thankful to my community college for the professional development and helping me be a more open person,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was one of the best experiences of my life.鈥�

Loren Van Tilburg, 19

University of La Verne

Loren originally enrolled at the University of La Verne and majored in economics, but quickly grew disinterested in his studies.

After his first year, Loren made the decision to leave his four-year school and get a job.

He experimented with a few ways to earn income 鈥� from day trading to dropshipping 鈥� but found his real passion was taking care of cars.

In 2023, Loren started a car detailing business which involves traveling to his clients鈥� home to clean and repair their vehicles.

鈥淚 won鈥檛 sugarcoat it, the decision was very difficult,鈥� Loren told 社区黑料. 鈥淏ut at the end of the day, I knew that I wanted to start a business and I wouldn鈥檛 need a degree for it.鈥�

While balancing his budding business, he also began working with a brokerage firm to become a financial advisor, which involves studying for a securities license he aims to complete by the end of the year.

Loren鈥檚 desire for on-the-job training and trade certification compared to a four-year degree reflects the mindset of a growing number of young students.

鈥淚’ve always wanted to do something like this because managing money makes money,鈥� Loren said, adding that many of his coworkers had similar educational pathways.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a cool environment to be in,鈥� Loren said. 鈥淪o if anyone chooses the path that I chose, it鈥檚 really good to find a community of people that made similar life choices because they will understand where you’re coming from and your struggles.鈥�

For Loren, leaving his four-year school was the best decision he could make for himself despite initial pushback from his parents. 

鈥淭here have been ups and downs, but I definitely don’t regret my decision,鈥� Loren said.

鈥淔or me, if I have to resort to going back to school then I failed,鈥� he added. 鈥淚’m not saying if you go to college you’re a failure, but I chose this path for myself so if I go back then I kind of just wasted all this time.鈥�

This article is part of a series in partnership with reporter Joshua Bay鈥檚 highlighting the struggles of community college students.

The data, released by the and the , found about one-third of community college students transfer to a four-year school with less than half graduating within six years 鈥� equating to the net completion rate of 16 percent.

But the report, in collaboration with the , saw even smaller completion rates for students who are Black, Latino and low-income at 9, 13 and 11 percent respectively.

John Fink, a senior research associate at the Community College Research Center, said this is because the transfer system is 鈥渞iddled with barriers鈥� from the historic lack of collaboration between community colleges and four-year schools.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not an equitable system when we rely on [community college] students to come in with knowledge of this hidden curriculum on how to transfer instead of holding institutions responsible for creating clear pathways and adequate advising along the way,鈥� Fink said.

The confusion and lack of clarity has added to students鈥� growing disdain for working towards a four-year degree as recent enrollment gains come particularly from community colleges with a vocational program focus, Fink said. 

鈥淭he [transfer system] largely replicates existing societal inequities,鈥� Fink said. 鈥淭he folks who are going to community college in large numbers are from communities that have historically had less access to bachelor and graduate degrees 鈥� like low-income and students of color.鈥�

鈥淚f there’s no additional resources and support to make up for this, you can expect to see these disparities in completion outcomes,鈥� Fink said.

Disparate Bachelor鈥檚 Degree Outcomes

The report showed mixed four-year completion outcomes from community college transfers demographically, Fink said. 

Low-income, Black and Latino students saw completion rates below the national average, in addition to men and students 25 years or older.

But high-income, Asian and White students saw completion rates above the national average, in addition to women and students 18 to 19 years old.

Fink said completion rates have increased slightly compared to previous years 鈥� jumping from 14 percent in 2016.

But he noted the increase is 鈥渘ot a lot [and] definitely not where we need it to be.鈥�

鈥淭here is so much potential here to create greater economic mobility, to further diversify student bodies and to bring in community college transfers that can perform at the same if not higher rates than non-transfer students,鈥� Fink said.

Fink said creating a 鈥渟ense of belonging鈥� on campus and expanding core practices such as dual enrollment will greatly improve transfer completion outcomes.

鈥淰isibility, belonging and inclusion are important things to think about in order to change some of these dismal outcomes nationally,鈥� Fink said.

鈥楨xclusionary鈥� Transfer Practices 

Dr. Marielena DeSanctis, president of the , said the completion disparities for students from low-income backgrounds are troubling.

鈥淭here鈥檚 plenty of data that speaks to more and more jobs requiring a bachelor’s degree, so it’s concerning when you start limiting the number of people that can attain one,鈥� DeSanctis said.

DeSanctis, who previously worked at , said Florida has a very different landscape for students to transfer from a community college to a four-year school compared to Colorado.

鈥淭here was no question that the courses you were taking were going to transfer and that it was going to be equivalent credits [but] here in Colorado that’s not the case,鈥� DeSanctis said, noting the harm of 鈥渆xclusionary鈥� transfer practices she鈥檚 noticed from four-year schools.

鈥淏ecause community colleges tend to be more racially and ethnically diverse, we should be telling students that community college is a vehicle to transfer to a university 鈥� particularly students that are ready to change the trajectory of their lives,鈥� DeSanctis said. 

Debi Gaitan, vice president of student services at , agreed with DeSanctis, adding that constraints placed on students from low-income backgrounds shouldn鈥檛 hinder them from having access to a four-year school whether they decide to transfer or go straight into the workforce.

鈥淪an Antonio is very much a city where we can see where our communities of poverty reside and they feed directly into our institutions,鈥� Gaitan said, noting that her students are often part-time, caring for family members and working to make ends meet.

鈥淲e want to ensure the stigma of not completing is not placed on this population,鈥� Gaitan said. 鈥淚t’s more about 鈥榙id they reach their goal of being able to get a better job with better income to get out of poverty.鈥欌��

Gaitan said it鈥檚 important for both community colleges and four-year schools to actively reach out to students from low-income backgrounds.

鈥淪tudents that have choices and are resourced know about us and know what we have to offer,鈥� Gaitan said. 鈥淭herefore we need to shift to the communities that don’t know we’re here鈥because] students from intergenerational cycles of poverty need those same resources our upwardly mobile, higher income communities already have.鈥�

Gaitan said resources that have been effective in her community include counseling programs and 鈥渁partment starters鈥� where students have access to microwaves, washing machines and other household needs so they can focus on their studies.

鈥淭hese are communities that need us to be different and need us to be doing more,鈥� Gaitan said. 鈥淲e want as many people in higher education to know this as possible because that’s how we have learned and that’s how we have adopted and adapted some really promising practices.鈥�

This article is part of a series in partnership with reporter Joshua Bay鈥檚 highlighting the struggles of community college students.

The found community colleges led overall undergraduate enrollment growth in the fall of 2023 by 2.6 percent, or 118,000 students, compared to the previous year.

Community college gains were carried by those with a vocational program focus 鈥� pointing to students鈥� growing disdain for working towards a four-year degree.

鈥淲e have shortages in a lot of jobs that require bachelor鈥檚 degrees,鈥� said Josh Wyner, founder and executive director of the , including well-paying careers in nursing, teaching and software engineering that pay north of $50,000 annually.

鈥淪o when we see students entering community college not in those liberal arts programs that lead to bachelor鈥檚 degrees, it鈥檚 troubling,鈥� Wyner said, adding that a vocational degree won鈥檛 provide the long-term financial payoff that would more likely come from a four-year education.

Career-Driven Programs Lead Enrollment Growth

Community colleges with a vocational program focus grew 16 percent in the fall of 2023 compared to the previous year鈥檚 3 percent gain 鈥� bringing them above their pre-pandemic enrollment by nearly 30,000 students.

But, transfer-focused community colleges only grew slightly by 0.2 percent in the fall of 2023 compared to the previous year鈥檚 1.1 percent drop 鈥� continuing their pre-pandemic enrollment decline by more than 500,000 students.

鈥淭here鈥檚 fewer community college students entering a transfer pipeline that we can鈥檛 afford to lose,鈥� said John Fink, a senior research associate at the .

This trend comes as community colleges remain in a 鈥渧ery deep hole鈥� because their uptick in enrollment doesn鈥檛 come close to pre-pandemic numbers, he added.

The report found community college growth in the fall of 2023 brings current enrollment to about 4.5 million students.

Popular programs include computer science, business and health that grew by 9.1, 3.5 and 2.4 percent respectively. 

But, there were more than 5.2 million students enrolled pre-pandemic 鈥� leaving community colleges with a net loss of nearly 700,000 students.

鈥淐ommunity college growth is certainly an encouraging sign, but there’s still a long way to go to get back to where we were,鈥� said Jeremy Cohen, a research associate at the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

Despite the growing number of companies no longer requiring job applicants to have a four-year degree, their hiring behavior hasn鈥檛 changed, Wyner said.

鈥淭he majority of good jobs in our country are populated by workers that have a bachelor’s or greater,鈥� Wyner said. 鈥淪o if students aren’t enrolling in community college programs that align with attaining a bachelor’s, we’re going to really struggle filling job vacancies in the future.鈥�

Wyner said the main factor community college-goers rely on to decide whether a four-year degree is worth pursuing is 鈥渨ord-of-mouth鈥� experiences from current students.

鈥淚f a student leaves [a four-year] college without a degree or with a degree that didn鈥檛 give them a better life than they would have had if they never attended, they鈥檙e going to go back to their communities and when people ask if it was worth it their answer is going to be no,鈥� Wyner said. 

鈥淪o the decisions we鈥檙e seeing them make may be entirely rational because the educational system keeps failing far too many of them,鈥� he added.

Transfer Student Declines Impact Four-Year Schools

This trend has implications for four-year institutions that rely on transfer students as part of their enrollment strategy, Fink said. 

鈥淚t might seem like this is a community college issue, but that’s going to translate in years forward to many four-year institutions,鈥� Fink said.

Wyner added how leaders at four-year institutions need to play their part in correcting community college enrollment declines.

鈥淚nstead of lamenting the fact that student enrollment in community colleges has come down, four-year schools need to lean in and do something about it,鈥� Wyner said, such as emulating Northern Virginia Community College鈥檚 that provides dual enrollment and guaranteed admission at George Mason University.

He said their program transfers more than 4,000 students every year to George Mason University and has a graduation rate of over 70 percent 鈥� higher than the national undergraduate average of .

鈥淚f you create really strong pathways for students, they’ll come back to community colleges,鈥� Wyner said.

This article is part of a series in partnership with reporter Joshua Bay鈥檚 highlighting the struggles of community college students.

WASHINGTON 鈥� Community colleges and four-year universities can work together to improve the transfer student experience, a data report from the U.S. Department of Education suggests.

The U.S. Department of Education released聽 about the institutions where transfer students have the highest graduation rates in each state, with New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Maryland, and Virginia doing the best. At the other end were South Dakota, Delaware, Indiana, New Mexico, and Louisiana.

The announcement of this report came in conjunction with a November summit featuring聽聽of higher education leaders, at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, Virginia.

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 社区黑料 Newsletter

The Department of Education data highlighted an ongoing problem of poor graduation outcomes among college transfer students.

While attending community college has become increasingly common for students in recent decades, schools have not accommodated their practices to match this demand, said Josh Wyner, who is a founder and executive director of the College Excellence Program at the Aspen Institute.

鈥淲hen community colleges only educated a small percentage of Americans back in the 1950s and before, there just weren鈥檛 a lot of students that were starting at community college and moving onto a four-year school,鈥� Wyner said.

Today, about聽聽attend community colleges, Wyner said, and most of them plan to earn a bachelor鈥檚 degree.

In a聽聽announcing the Northern Virginia summit and data report, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said there needs to be increased support for transfer students.

鈥淥ur current higher education system stacks the deck against community college students who aspire to earn four-year degrees 鈥� denying acceptance of their credits, forcing them to retake courses, and ultimately making their educational journeys longer and costlier than they need to be,鈥� Cardona said in the press release.

Pairing two-year and four-year institutions

The Department of Education data also focus on the 鈥渄yads,鈥� or community college and four-year institution pairings, that have the highest graduation rates for transfer students.

The report particularly highlights the 鈥渢op-performing鈥� partnership between Northern Virginia Community College, known as NOVA, and George Mason University鈥檚聽聽program. George Mason is a public four-year institution in Fairfax, Virginia.

ADVANCE, launched in 2018, aims to improve the transfer experience and graduation rates for students, said Jennifer Nelson, director of university transfer and initiatives at NOVA.

Of the students who transferred from NOVA to George Mason University, 13% graduated with a bachelor鈥檚 degree within eight years, according to the Department of Education.

Jason Dodge, the executive director of ADVANCE at George Mason University and NOVA, said there are about 4,500 students in the ADVANCE program.

Nelson said that when ADVANCE was first developed in 2017, four key goals were defined to help transfer students. These goals 鈥渢end to be the hallmarks鈥� of why students participate in the program, Nelson said.

First, the program seeks to increase associate鈥檚 and bachelor鈥檚 degree attainment for transfer students, since 鈥渃ompletion leads to completion,鈥� Nelson said. The program aims to decrease the amount of time spent earning a degree, as well as lower the cost to do so, Nelson said.

The fourth goal of the program is to increase support for transfer students, including academic advising, Nelson said.

Nelson and Dodge said the ADVANCE program鈥檚 collaboration between schools is what makes it special.

鈥淭his is a 50/50 program,鈥� Nelson said. 鈥淓very decision that鈥檚 made regarding this program is a joint decision.鈥�

Support for transfer students

Nelson said the ADVANCE program offers a 鈥渟treamlined admission process鈥� for community college students seeking to transfer from NOVA to George Mason.

Students join the program early in their time at NOVA, before they have completed over 30 credit hours, Nelson said. Transfer students can spend 鈥渘o more than five minutes鈥� to complete the ADVANCE program鈥檚 free declaration form, Nelson said.

The final part of a student鈥檚 onboarding process is to select a curricular pathway, or their major, Nelson said. This pathway serves as a 鈥済uide鈥� for transfer students as they work to earn their associate鈥檚 degree and move on to George Mason University, Nelson said.

There is no transfer application or application fee for students in the ADVANCE program, which makes the transition process 鈥渟eamless鈥� for students, Dodge said.

ADVANCE offers financial aid specifically for these transfer students, and has so far awarded over $2 million in scholarships and grants to participating students at NOVA and GMU, Dodge said.

In addition to having an academic adviser and access to resources at both institutions, students in the ADVANCE program have a coach. This coach 鈥渟erves as a student鈥檚 primary point of contact for the program,鈥� Nelson said.

Nelson said the coach helps make sure the students are sticking to their pathways and taking the right classes, as well as helps connect students to resources at both institutions.

These certified coaches recognize 鈥渢hat what happens outside of the classroom has a direct impact on a student鈥檚 ability to excel inside of the classroom,鈥� Nelson said.

Patterns in transfer student data

Wyner said he sees 鈥渟imilar patterns鈥� between his research with the Community College Research Center on National Student Clearinghouse data and the Department of Education鈥檚 data.

The data collected from the National Student Clearinghouse represent 90% of college students, which is more inclusive than the Department of Education鈥檚 data report, Wyner said. The Department of Education鈥檚 data only represent students who receive financial aid, he said.

Wyner was a presenter at the Department of Education鈥檚 November summit at NOVA.

The first pattern, Wyner said, is that both data sets showcase low graduation rates for community college students transferring to four-year universities.

The second pattern is 鈥渋ncredibly variable bachelor鈥檚 attainment rates among dyads of institutions,鈥� Wyner said, and these variations exist even within state lines.

鈥淭hat huge variation, even within states, says that what matters is institutional practice,鈥� Wyner said.

Wyner said that while state policies can make a difference, it鈥檚 concerning that 鈥渟ome institutions are doing radically better than others鈥� within the same state. This is 鈥渢roubling,鈥� he said, because a student鈥檚 chance of graduation appears to be tied to the dyad they attend.

If a transfer student attends a community college-university pair with lower graduation rates, that student has 鈥渁 very small chance of getting a bachelor鈥檚 degree,鈥� he said.

鈥淚t shouldn鈥檛 be a matter of luck as to where you enter community college, in terms of whether you鈥檙e ultimately going to get a bachelor鈥檚 degree,鈥� Wyner said.

Ensuring success

Wyner said that after the Pell Grant program was established in the 1970s, community college enrollment 鈥渄ramatically increased鈥� after primarily serving as 鈥渁ccess institutions.鈥�

Despite this surge of community college enrollments, 鈥渃olleges fundamentally didn鈥檛 change their practices,鈥� Wyner said.

Community colleges have since been focused on helping students complete their associate degree, but 鈥渉aven鈥檛 worked as hard as they needed to make sure that students succeed after they graduate, that they actually go on to earn the bachelor鈥檚 degree that they came for in the first place,鈥� Wyner said.

Four-year universities have primarily focused on first-year student enrollments, Wyner said, even though 鈥渢he community college population of freshmen and sophomores in our country is as big as the one that starts at four-year schools.鈥�

鈥淥ur systems have not caught up to the realities of where students enter college,鈥� Wyner said.

Four-year universities also prioritize first-year students over transfer students when it comes to financial aid, Wyner said.

Steps toward transfer student success

With the Community College Research Center, Wyner has studied the colleges with high and improving success rates of transfer students.

These schools demonstrated three characteristics that made this success possible, he said. The colleges prioritize transfer students, create defined programs of study 鈥渢hat extend from the community college into the four-year school with clear course sequences and strong learning outcomes,鈥� as well as offer advising tailored to transfer students, Wyner said.

The first step to improving transfer student success is for leaders at both community colleges and universities to come together and analyze transfer student population data, Wyner said.

Wyner said that schools can further prioritize transfer students by bringing together faculty from individual areas of study from both the two-year- and four-year colleges for shared discussions. This can help ensure that those programs of study are 鈥減erfectly well-aligned鈥� for a smooth transition from the community college to the four-year college, he said.

鈥淭hey need to sit down and say, 鈥楢lright, we鈥檙e gonna map out exactly the courses students should take, and we鈥檙e going to work hard together to make sure that we鈥檙e aligned on our expectations for students and that we鈥檙e delivering what students need,鈥� 鈥� Wyner said.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Diane Rado for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com. Follow Florida Phoenix on and .

Sheikh experienced several hurdles, from losing community college credits to inconsistent academic advising, after transferring twice during the pandemic.

鈥淲hen COVID hit, a lot of the resources I needed were cut off,鈥� Sheikh told 社区黑料. 鈥淚t was a bit of a struggle because I didn’t know the system very well, plus my parents never went to school here, so I was lost figuring out this process.鈥�

As a South Asian immigrant woman, Sheikh鈥檚 experience speaks to the thousands of transfer students from marginalized communities who鈥檝e had a difficult time achieving their dream to earn a four-year degree.

According to a new report from the , college transfer enrollment declined by 7.5 percentage points in fall 2022 and 14.5 percentage points since fall 2020 鈥� the equivalent of 37,600 and 78,500 students respectively.

The steepest transfer enrollment drops were observed among lower income students who declined by 10.8 percentage points since fall 2019 鈥� the equivalent of 225,200 students.

There was also a disparate enrollment drop for female transfer students compared to their male counterparts with a decline of 3.5 and 0.7 percentage points respectively in fall 2022 鈥� adding to an overall decline of 9.2 and 3.9 percentage points since fall 2020.

In addition, transfer enrollment fell significantly for Asian, White and Native American students by 8, 6.1 and 3.5 percentage points respectively in fall 2022 鈥� adding to an overall drop of 14.8, 12.2 and 7.8 percentage points since fall 2020.

鈥淓ven before the pandemic, that path from community colleges to four-year institutions was riddled with complexities and barriers that would hamstring even the most persistent students,鈥� director Tania LaViolet told 社区黑料.

鈥淪o when you get the extreme hardships from the last few years and an experience that already isn鈥檛 built with you in mind, those things compound鈥nd reflect the data we鈥檙e seeing.鈥�

LaViolet said the inequities for lower income students to attend four-year universities needs more attention from policymakers and state leaders. 

鈥淲e know it isn’t a matter of if the talent is out there,鈥� LaViolet said. 鈥淪o how can we design better practices that serve the needs of lower income transfers? There are institutions out there who have done it, but the data shows it鈥檚 not happening at scale.鈥�

LaViolet also said the disparities in female transfer enrollment doesn鈥檛 surprise her.

鈥淓specially for those who are parenting students, who have families to care for and who have jobs, those real life circumstances combined with a challenging educational environment make it difficult for women to realize their educational goals,鈥� LaViolet said.

Jeff Gold, the associate vice chancellor at the , agreed with LaViolet.

鈥淲hen a pandemic hits, there’s existential challenges that come first and foremost if you’re caring for a family member, if you’re sick yourself or if you’ve got to go back to work,鈥� Gold told 社区黑料. 鈥淏ut there’s certainly one that鈥檚 clear 鈥� child rearing responsibilities are disproportionately on the female side.鈥�

Gold also said it鈥檚 troubling how transfer enrollment drops are not shared equally by students of all racial and ethnic backgrounds.

鈥淲e have to remember that we’re still living in incredibly tumultuous times, so there’s a context behind these numbers and they’re not out of the blue,鈥� Gold told 社区黑料. 鈥淪o the fact that the drops for our most historically marginalized students are much larger than our other students is incredibly troubling.鈥�

John Fink, senior research associate at the , pointed out how transfer enrollment drops may 鈥渂e slowing, but are still moving in the wrong direction.鈥�

Looking forward, Fink believes these enrollment drops have implications for four-year universities that rely on transfer students as a core part of their enrollment strategy.

鈥淔our-year institutions have really taken transfer students for granted,鈥� Fink told 社区黑料. 鈥淭his really should be a wake up call for them to rethink and focus on how they can better partner with their community colleges.鈥�