TRANSFER STUDENT SUCCESS BASED ON PRE-TRANSFER COURSE
SELECTION
Theresa Anne Costa
B.S., University of California, Davis, 2005
THESIS
Submitted in partial satisfaction of
the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
in
EDUCATION
(Educational Leadership)
at
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO
SPRING
2010
TRANSFER STUDENT SUCCESS BASED ON PRE-TRANSFER COURSE
SELECTION
A Thesis
by
Theresa Anne Costa
Approved by:
__________________________________, Committee Chair
José Chávez, Ed.D.
__________________________________, Second Reader
Geni Cowan, Ph.D.
____________________________
Date
ii
Student: Theresa Anne Costa
I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University
format manual, and that this thesis is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to
be awarded for the thesis.
____________________, Graduate Coordinator
Geni Cowan, Ph. D.
Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
iii
___________________
Date
Abstract
of
TRANSFER STUDENT SUCCESS BASED ON PRE-TRANSFER COURSE
SELECTION
by
Theresa Anne Costa
Brief Review of the Literature
There are many academic and non-academic factors that influence transfer student
success at the senior institution. The most well researched factor is GPA at the
community college. Other academic factors include part-time status and number of
courses taken at the community college. Transfer student success in individual disciplines
has not been thoroughly researched.
Statement of Problem
This study is designed to test for relationships between the types of coursework
completed prior to transferring and the success of transfer students in the Biotechnology
major at Northern Valley University (NVU). This study also identifies tools used by
transfer students to select courses at the community college and other academic factors
affecting transfer student success.
Methodology
This study employed two methodologies to collect data: focus groups and transcript
review. Focus groups were conducted with current transfer students in the Biotechnology
major at NVU. Transcript data were collected for previous transfer students in the
iv
Biotechnology major at NVU. Specific data points collected included grade point
averages pre-transfer and post-transfer, number of major and non-major required courses
completed at the community college, and terms enrolled at NVU prior to graduation.
Conclusions Reached
No significant relationship exists between course selection at the community
college and grade point average. There was a significant negative relationship between
the number of non-major required and total courses completed prior to transferring and
terms to degree, r=-.424 (p<.01) and r=-.583 (p<.01), respectively. Results for the
relationship between the number of major courses completed prior to transferring and
terms to degree is inconclusive. To select courses at the community college students
identified major and general education courses, discussed course selection with peers,
counselors, and instructors, reviewed articulation agreements, and read catalogs,
handouts, school Web sites, and instructor rating Web sites. Students identified many
factors that affected their success: lack of student-instructor interaction, large class size,
adjustment to the speed of the quarter system, and use of instructional technologies.
_______________________, Committee Chair
José Chávez, Ed.D.
_______________________
Date
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
List of Tables ............................................................................................................ viii
List of Figures ............................................................................................................. ix
Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................1
Background ....................................................................................................... 1
Statement of the Problem .................................................................................. 4
Definition of Terms........................................................................................... 5
Limitations ........................................................................................................ 6
Significance of the Study .................................................................................. 7
Organization of the Remainder of the Study .....................................................9
2. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ...................................................................... 10
Introduction ..................................................................................................... 10
Non-academic Factors Influencing Transfer Student Success.........................11
Academic Factors Influencing Transfer Student Success ................................16
Differences Between Disciplines .....................................................................23
Rationale for the Study ................................................................................... 24
Summary ..........................................................................................................26
3. METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................... 28
Introduction ......................................................................................................28
Setting of the Study..........................................................................................28
Population and Sample ....................................................................................29
Design of the Study..........................................................................................31
4. DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS ................................................................. 36
Introduction ......................................................................................................36
Focus Group Results ........................................................................................37
Transcript Review Results ...............................................................................55
5. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS ........................66
vi
Summary ..........................................................................................................66
Conclusions ......................................................................................................67
Recommendations ............................................................................................72
Appendices .................................................................................................................. 75
Appendix A. Consent to Participate in a Research Study ........................................... 76
Appendix B. Focus Group Questions ......................................................................... 79
References ................................................................................................................... 81
vii
LIST OF TABLES
Page
1.
Table 1 Frequency of Comments in Focus Groups .........................................38
2.
Table 2 Sample Statistics for Major Courses Completed ................................56
3.
Table 3 Levene’s F-test for Homogeneity of Variance for Major Courses
Completed ........................................................................................................56
4.
Table 4 t-test for Equality of Means for Major Courses Completed ...............57
5.
Table 5 Pearson Correlations for Non-major Courses Completed ..................58
6.
Table 6 Sample Statistics for Non-major Courses Completed ........................59
7.
Table 7 Levene’s F-test for Homogeneity of Variance for Non-major Courses
Completed ........................................................................................................60
8.
Table 8 t-test for Equality of Means for Non-major Courses Completed........60
9.
Table 9 Pearson Correlations for Non-major Courses Completed ..................61
10.
Table 10 Sample Statistics for Total Courses Completed ...............................63
11.
Table 11 Levene’s F-test for Homogeneity of Variance for Total Courses
Completed ........................................................................................................63
12.
Table 12 t-test for Equality of Means for Total Courses Completed ...............64
13.
Table 13 Pearson Correlations for Total Courses Completed .........................64
viii
LIST OF FIGURES
Page
1.
Figure 1 Correlation between major courses completed at the community college
and terms to degree at NVU.............................................................................58
2.
Figure 2 Correlation between non-major courses completed at the community
college and terms to degree at NVU. ...............................................................62
3.
Figure 3 Correlation between total courses completed at the community college
and terms to degree at NVU.............................................................................65
ix
1
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
Background
Most universities in the United States are made up of two distinct populations,
native students and transfer students. Native students begin their post-secondary careers
at the institution from which they will receive their baccalaureate degrees, whereas
transfer students begin their post-secondary careers at an institute of higher education
other than the institution from which they will receive their baccalaureate degrees. These
populations differ by race, socioeconomic status, preparation, GPA, and time to degree
(Gao, Hughes, O’Rear & Fendley, 2002; Chatman, 2001). Their experiences and
circumstances vary widely and affect their success at the senior institution, from which
they will receive their baccalaureate degree. Course selection is among the many
decisions that prospective transfer students must make, and their choices directly affect
their ability to transfer to a senior institution and to be successful at that institution.
Nationally, transfer rates have been relatively stagnant around 22% since the mid
1980s, but the number of students beginning their college careers at community colleges
is on the rise, so four year colleges and universities must prepare for increasing numbers
of transfer students in their populations (Bryant, 2001). Throughout the University of
California system, transfer student applications are on the rise, up by 17.5% from 2009 to
2010 (Easley, 2010). Northern Valley University (NVU) aims to increase the proportion
of its undergraduates who are transfer students. Approximately one third of the
2
undergraduate students admitted to NVU each year are transfer student; two thirds are
new freshmen students.
Many of the transfer students who enroll at NVU each year are admitted by a
Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG). A TAG is a contract between the university and
the prospective transfer student that outlines the minimum course and grade point average
(GPA) requirements the student must complete. If the student completes those
requirements, then the student is admitted to the university without further review. At
NVU, transfer students who are admitted to the university with a TAG are 2% more
likely to graduate than those who are admitted without a TAG. Because the California
Master Plan for Higher Education created a goal that most transfer students would enter
the senior institution with junior level class standing, NVU primarily accepts junior level
transfer students. Sophomore and senior level transfer students are few and are admitted
only with special approval. Junior level transfer students have priority in admissions over
senior and sophomore level transfer students. Previous studies at NVU have indicated
that greater levels of academic preparation are correlated with higher graduation rates and
that transfer students graduate at much higher rates, approximately 15% higher, than
freshman admits to the university.
In order for a prospective transfer student to be eligible for admission to NVU, she
must meet the following requirements: (a) completion of 90 quarter units prior to
enrolling, (b) completion of two transferable courses in English composition, (c)
completion of one transferable course in mathematical concepts, (d) completion of four
transferable courses in two of these subject areas: arts and humanities, social and
3
behavioral sciences, physical and biological sciences, and (e) minimum 2.4 cumulative
GPA.
Many transfer students choose to complete the Intersegmental General Education
Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) prior to transferring. The IGETC is a set of courses taken
at the community college that when completed waives the student of their general
education requirements, regardless of whether or not those particular courses are
transferable to the senior institution. The vast majority of University of California and
California State University system schools and colleges accept IGETC certifications,
though there are exceptions. Because it is so widely accepted, IGETC is often a good
course outline for California community college students planning to transfer to a
California public university. However, IGETC is not a good course plan for all
prospective transfer students. If a student’s chosen major program will require many
specific lower-division courses be completed early in the student’s academic career,
following IGETC may slow the student’s degree progress.
In addition to these minimum eligibility requirements, some major programs at NVU
are selective, meaning that students must complete more coursework than outlined above
to be eligible for admission. These majors tend to require relatively large numbers of
units for completion of the major program, are impacted, and have many prerequisite
courses that must be completed in the first two years of study if the major is to be
completed within four years. At NVU selective majors include all majors within the
Colleges of Engineering and Biological Sciences, as well as the majors in Biotechnology,
Viticulture and Enology, Communications, Psychology, and International Relations.
4
Anecdotal evidence provided by advisors for these programs indicates that completion of
extra major courses prior to transfer leads to more successful transfer students. Based on
this anecdotal evidence, in 2005 the committee in charge of curriculum for the
Biotechnology major voted to become a selective program. No studies were completed to
assess the likely outcomes of the change in admissions requirements. The additional
coursework requirements for transfer admissions decided upon were (a) two quarters of
transferable calculus with a minimum GPA in those classes of 2.5, (b) three quarters of
transferable chemistry with a minimum GPA in those classes of 2.5, and (3) one quarter
of transferable biology with a minimum GPA of 3.0 in that course, or two or more
quarters of transferable biology with a minimum GPA of 2.5 in those courses. Since this
change to the admissions requirements was implemented, no studies have been completed
to validate the effectiveness of the expanded requirements on increasing transfer student
success.
Statement of the Problem
This study is designed to determine the relationship between transfer student
success and the type of coursework completed at the community college. Specific
questions to be addressed are
1. Is there a relationship between the number of major and non-major courses
completed prior to transferring and GPA at the senior institution? If so, what
is that relationship?
5
2. Is there a relationship between the number of major and non-major courses
completed prior to transferring and terms to degree at the senior institution? If
so, what is that relationship?
3. Which factors influence a student’s course selection at the community
college?
4. Which other academic factors influence transfer student success?
Definition of Terms
IGETC – The Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) is
a series of courses completed at the community college that when certified grant
completion of the general education requirements at NVU. For the purpose of this study,
completion of IGETC will be counted as completion of six non-major courses because it
takes six courses at NVU to complete the general education requirement.
Major course – A major course is any course required for the Biotechnology
major at NVU. In some cases a course can be used to complete major and non-major
requirements, for the purposes of this study those courses will be coded as major courses.
Native students – The term, “native students,” applies to students who begin and
end their baccalaureate degree at the same institution. Though they may take a few
courses at other institutions during the summer or as part of an exchange or abroad
program, they consider themselves the students of only one institution. Unlike native
students, transfer students generally consider themselves the products of more than one
institution.
6
Non-major course – A non-major course is any course that completes a specific
degree requirement (general education, English composition, etc.) that is not a major
requirement.
Selective major – A selective major is any major that requires more transfer
coursework for admission than minimum transfer eligibility requirements.
Senior institution – For a transfer student, a senior institution is the college or
university they transfer to and graduate from, in contrast to the junior institution.
Target institution – For a prospective transfer student, a target institution is the
college or university that the student is planning to transfer to.
Terms to degree – Terms to degree is defined for this study as the number of
academic quarters a transfer student enrolls at NVU before completing the baccalaureate
degree. It includes only full-time quarters with the exception that the last quarter of
enrollment is included even if enrollment that quarter is only part-time. Time to degree is
measured differently by different institutions, some measure in months, others in years.
Some include all terms between first enrollment and graduation, others include only
enrolled terms. For this reason, the study uses terms to degree to standardize the data.
Limitations
The focus groups conducted at NVU, were held between the hours of 11:00 a.m.
and 2:00 p.m. This timeframe would tend to prohibit working students from taking part in
the groups. The researcher also planned to include no more than six participants in each
7
focus group, on one occasion a seventh participant unexpectedly added to the group. This
may have limited the depth of the responses from the participants in that session.
The transcript data provided to the researcher did not include quarterly GPAs so
analysis of how transfer shock may affect these students was not possible.
The population for this study was limited to students in one major, at one
university, who had transferred from a California community college. Therefore,
although the results of this study may be suggestive to other majors, universities, and
transfer students, they cannot be assumed applicable or repeatable for other populations.
Significance of the Study
For a variety of reasons, the results of this study may be of use to administrators,
community college counselors, and prospective transfer students to NVU. Administrators
may find their interest twofold. First, the addition of extra major requirements for transfer
students into the Biotechnology major and all of the majors in the College of Biological
Sciences is relatively new. The decision to require extra coursework for prospective
transfer students in the Biotechnology major was made without study of the success rates
of transfer students based on completion of those courses before admission to NVU (J. I.
Yoder, personal communication, November 2006). This study can partially fill that gap,
and provide evidence that the decision for the Biotechnology major to become selective
was or was not warranted. The lack of evidence required to significantly change the entry
requirements to the major speaks to the type of leadership guiding the major and college
curriculum committees. The leaders have forged groups that are comfortable with change
8
and trust observation highly. While those traits are not necessarily negative, they may not
allow time for reflection on the effects of policy changes. In particular, requiring more
stringent entry requirements for transfer students may have an effect of the diversity of
the admitted transfer student class, an effect that may not have been discussed by the
committee of faculty focused on increasing pre-transfer preparation. The results of this
study may require the Biotechnology curriculum committee to consider reversing their
previous decision and making the major unselective, to leave the admissions
requirements unchanged, or to add further coursework to the admissions requirements.
Although the results of this study will be specific to NVU and the Biotechnology
major, it would not be surprising to find that trends for Biotechnology transfer students
mirror those of other biological sciences transfer students at NVU. Indeed, the trends may
also have limited applicability to biology students at other universities.
Second, NVU, like all institutions of higher education in California, is in the
midst of a tremendous budget crisis. In order to reduce costs, the number of freshman
students allowed to enroll at NVU in 2009 was approximately 400 less than in 2008. In
lieu of additions to the freshman student population, the number of transfer students was
targeted to increase by approximately 50 students. The Master Plan for Higher Education
in California indicates that the University of California and California State University
systems give priority in admissions to qualified students transferring from a California
community colleges (Master Plan Survey Team, 1960).
Prospective transfer students to the Biotechnology major and the community
college counselors who advise them should find the results of this study useful in guiding
9
pre-transfer course selection. If the study shows that students who complete many major
requirements at the community college graduate in less time or with higher GPAs than
those students who take fewer major courses at the community college, transfer students
and community college counselors may write educational plans that include more major
courses. If the inverse is true, community college students and counselors may write
educational plans that focus primarily on general education, IGETC, or English
composition requirements. Because one of the indicators of success measured in this
study is time to degree, and increased time to degree often means increased educational
and other expenses, prospective transfer students may consider their pocketbooks when
reviewing the results of this study.
Organization of the Remainder of the Study
The remainder of this study will be presented in four chapters. Chapter 2 will
review literature related to transfer student success at the senior institution and provide a
rationale for the study. Chapter 3 will describe the methodology of the study including
the setting, sample selection, data collection and data analysis procedures. Chapter 4 will
present the study results organized by methodology. Finally, chapter 5 will provide study
conclusions organized by research question and will provide recommendations for
practice and further study.
10
Chapter 2
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Introduction
In times of shrinking undergraduate capacity at public universities in California, it
becomes more important to the state economy and workforce that each admitted student
completes their degree objective. Pressure to admit students who will graduate with a
baccalaureate degree is ever mounting on admissions offices. Considering California’s
extensive community college system, the demand to accurately evaluate thousands of
freshman student applications is paired with the need to admit a strong transfer student
class. Due to their differences in age, race, socioeconomic status, educational history,
etc., the set of measures used to predict freshman student success is not necessarily the
same as those used to predict transfer student success, and therefore the criteria for
transfer admission to the university must differ from the criteria for freshman admission.
Pharr and Lawrence (2007) supported the idea that in addition to different admission
policies for transfer and freshman students, admission requirements into selective major
programs should be different for transfer and native students.
A review of the literature related to transfer student success at the senior
institution revealed two types of factors that have significant impact on student success:
non-academic factors and academic factors. This examination will present both sets of
factors, with emphasis on the academic factors.
11
Non-academic Factors Influencing Transfer Student Success
It has been documented that female college students are more likely to succeed
than their male counterparts, and the same trend applies to female transfer students.
Gender is one of seven characteristics that supplied the greatest influence on persistence
to the baccalaureate degree for students studying Family and Consumer Sciences, with
female students much more likely than males to persist to graduation (Blecher, 2006).
Piland (1995) found that female transfer students who entered San Diego State University
in 1993 graduated more quickly than males, but when considered over an extended time
span the men eventually graduated in equal rates as the women.
Lower socioeconomic status has been correlated with lower probability of
completing a baccalaureate degree for both transfer and native students, but the effect is
more pronounced on students who enter a four year institution directly, likely because the
costs associated with a four year institution are usually much greater than those at a two
year institution (Melguizo & Dowd, 2009). More specifically, lower parents’ income,
students’ financial independence, and working part-time or full-time after transferring to
the senior institution lowered persistence rates (Berkner, Cuccaro-Alamin, &
McCormick, 1996; Blecher, 2006; Glass & Bunn, 1998). In a study of 12 senior
institutions in North Carolina, researchers found that working part-time was not a
significant factor in time to degree, but that being unemployed was significant in
reducing time to degree and being employed full-time was significant in increasing time
to degree (Glass & Bunn, 1998). Dougherty (1992) found that transfer students are 12%
more likely to drop out of the university than native students, and the factor they cited
12
most often was finances. Dougherty found that transfer students receive less financial aid
than native students because they have often exhausted their financial aid eligibility
before they are able to complete their degrees. The necessity that some transfer students
work full-time is highly related to their decision to enroll in coursework part-time or fulltime. Literature regarding part-time status is discussed as an academic factor influencing
success.
Previous studies on race and transfer student success have varied results, but all
indicate that some racial groups are more likely to succeed than others. Lee, MackieLewis, and Marks (1993) found that when controls are in place for socioeconomic status
Hispanic students do not graduate at significantly different rates than white students, but
the graduation rate of black students is significantly lower. Piland (1995) found that the
lowest graduation rates were found in Pacific Islander and African American students.
Minority status has been found to only slightly lower six year graduation rates, but has a
more profound affect on slowing progress toward graduation (Glass & Bunn, 1998). Lee
et al. (1993) found that universities with high minority rates have lower transfer
persistence rates. They suggested that this may be due to direction of resources at those
schools to campus diversity relations and programs to promote persistence of
underrepresented groups and away from transfer students success programs and services.
Aragon and Perez (2006) described a program at a research institution that had
recently been successful in attracting community college transfer students of color. The
program, Academic Year Research Experience, invited underrepresented students from
the local community college to participate in a yearlong research and seminar program at
13
the research institution. Besides the expected results of increased research skills and
participation exhibited by the students in the program, the community college students
quickly became perspective transfer students who were comfortable in the environment at
the research institution and served as resources for other community college students who
were considering transferring to the research institution. Aragon and Perez indicate that
this kind of program could be designed for any discipline, the important factor is getting
the community college student on campus at the senior institution prior to application.
Similarly, Flaga (2006) recommended that community colleges offer seminars on transfer
student success that are offered on the campus of a nearby senior institution to begin
integrating prospective transfer students into the senior institution early in their academic
careers.
When looking to increase the diversity of the campus student population, senior
institutions often look to community colleges, which often serve a disproportionate
number of underrepresented students. Aragon and Perez (2006) note that senior
institutions often let the burden of facilitating transfer to the community colleges. They
felt this was neglectful of the senior institutions that ask for transfer students of a
particular academic quality, major, and diversity group, but are unwilling to help foster
those students through the transfer process.
A number of student psychological characteristics are related to higher degree
completion rates. The study conducted by Wang (2008) demonstrated one non-academic
factor that increased persistence, which was termed “perceived locus of control” (p. 583).
As described in a number of theoretical frameworks, students have a sense that their
14
world, academic and otherwise, is internally controlled or externally controlled. Wang
found that those students who feel most in control of their environments and outcomes
tend to do best academically.
There is some evidence that close proximity of the community college to the
senior institution increases the likelihood of a transfer student completing his
baccalaureate degree. Transfer students from the Los Rios Community College district to
UC Davis, which are within 40 miles of each other, had graduation rates 6% higher than
transfer students from other community colleges (Jones & Lee, 1992). That advantage is
probably an amalgam of many separate factors such as student social support systems,
reduced financial burdens, and better networks of communication between the
institutions.
Piland’s 1995 study suggested that numerous community college characteristics
explain the high rates of transfer student success: small class size, excellent instruction,
and personal attention from faculty that increases student’s skills and confidence levels.
The same study showed that students with clear, strong goals, as demonstrated by
declared major, course plan, or planned career path, were more likely to graduate than
those students who lacked plans and goals. Similarly, Lewis and Lewis (2000)
conjectured that the greater success rates of nursing transfer students who had completed
more nursing prerequisite courses prior to transfer was due to the students being more
focus on their future coursework and careers. Having taken more coursework prior to
transfer made the students more informed about what their nursing program would entail.
15
With national rates of transfer from community colleges hovering around 22%, it
is clear that community college students who will eventually transfer are a subset of the
greater community college population. Urso and Sygielski (2007) investigated the
attributes of community college students and the advantages they gain from attending a
community college that makes them successful at the university. They found that students
who transfer have a focused work ethic. It is nearly impossible to meet transfer
requirements – both particular coursework requirements and competitive GPA –
accidentally. The students who complete those requirements have clear goals and have
worked to achieve them. Additionally, most community colleges are more diverse than
universities; community college transfer students have more experience with people who
are different than themselves then the average native student. Besides these advantages,
Urso and Sygielski also identified some barriers transfer students are likely to encounter
when they reach the university: large class size, a physically larger campus, and changes
in their social lives. Additionally, Townsend (2008) found community college transfer
students were not prepared for the lack of interest that university faculty showed in their
lives, goals, and class attendance. The skills and experiences the community college
students attain before they transfer may explain Piland’s (1995) finding that transfer
students’ performances at the university exceed what would have been expected based on
their high school performances.
Blecher (2006) identified perceived academic and social integration as important
factors toward persistence, and Pascarella, Smart, and Ethington (1986) found integration
16
to be particularly important for female students’ success. Perceived quality of student
support services was also related to time to degree (Glass & Bunn, 1998).
Academic Factors Influencing Transfer Student Success
Many researchers have analyzed the affects of various academic factors that
influence transfer student success. Two factors in particular have been heavily studied:
increased academic intensity and pre-transfer GPA. In addition, articulation agreements,
course selection, and transfer shock have been investigated. These academic factors
influencing transfer student success are described in the subsequent sections.
Effects of Increased Academic Intensity
Many studies have indicated that being a full-time student significantly increases
the probability of transfer to a senior institution and completion of a baccalaureate degree
(Berkner et al., 1996; Blecher, 2006; Doyle, 2009; Lee et al., 1993; Wang, 2008). In a
longitudinal study of students from High School and Beyond, Lee et al. identified two
academic behaviors that were correlated with baccalaureate degree completion: high
GPA and full-time study. Some studies have gone further to describe success and
academic intensity. Doyle’s 2009 study of transcript data for public college and
university students in Tennessee showed that maintaining full-time status increases the
probability that a junior college student will transfer to a senior institution by 11% to
15% and that high academic intensity during the first year is particularly important.
Doyle used a matched pairs technique to control for variables such as race, sex, age,
major, and commute distance. The same study demonstrated that the probability of
17
transfer is not only increased by enrolling full-time as compared to part-time; students
who took nine units per term were more likely to transfer than those students who took
six units per term. The lower socioeconomic status of transfer students means that many
are financing their own education, so they are more likely to be part-time students or to
stop out. Student in the lowest socioeconomic bracket are more likely to complete a
baccalaureate degree by beginning their studies at a community college (Melguizo &
Dowd, 2009). Failure to complete at least 20 semester units in the first year decreases the
likelihood of completing a baccalaureate degree by one third (Doyle, 2009). Blecher’s
2006 analysis of transfer students in a Family and Consumer Sciences program found that
full-time status increased persistence by 20%. A study of students who transferred to a
Midwest nursing program found that successful student transferred 10 more credit hours
than unsuccessful students (Lewis & Lewis, 2000). Research suggested that students who
have completed an associate’s degree before transferring to the senior institution are 20%
more likely to complete the baccalaureate degree (Cejda, Rewey, & Kaylor, 1998). It has
also been suggested that enrolling part-time may in part be a result of a student’s lack of
commitment to their education (Wang, 2008). Contrary to Wang’s study, Piland (1995)
found that enrollment patterns change when transfer students reach the senior institution.
Students who seemed to wander and took courses only part-time at the community
college tend to buckle down at the senior institution and try to graduate as quickly as
possible. This is likely because they took more than two years to complete their
community college coursework and they are facing financial pressure to finish in as few
terms as possible. Compared to their percentage of the entering transfer student class at
18
San Diego State University, students who had completed a high number of units prior to
transferring were overrepresented among those who achieved the baccalaureate degree
(Piland, 1995).
In a longitudinal study of community college students who had displayed
consistent baccalaureate degree aspirations, researchers found that transfer students
graduate older and later than native students; after 8.5 years 83% of the native students
had achieve the baccalaureate degree compared to 53% of transfer students (Melguizo &
Dowd, 2009). Other studies have indicated that transfer students graduate in equal
proportions as native students, though it takes the transfer students longer to graduate
(Bryant, 2001). Melguizo and Dowd explained that this difference was caused by lower
preparation and socioeconomic status. Transfer students needed more remediation than
native students, so they had to spend more time at the community college to gain those
basic skills. Jones and Lee (1992) found that transfer students who had needed
remediation at one of the colleges in the Los Rios Community College District were 10%
less likely to graduate than those who had not needed remediation.
The Best Predictor: Transfer GPA
By far, the most agreed upon factor for predicting transfer student success at the
senior institution is high GPA at the junior college (Cejda et al., 1998; Ditchkoff, Laband,
& Hanby, 2003; Lee et al., 1993; Lewis & Lewis, 2000; Piland, 1995; Wang, 2008).
Lewis and Lewis found that the best predictor for success in a nursing program was the
transfer GPA in the specific prerequisite courses required for the program and Ditchkoff
et al., 2003) found transfer GPA to be the best predictor of success for students in a
19
Wildlife Science major. Cejda et al. (1998) compared the success of transfer students
with the success of native students and found that transfer students from a community
college to a local liberal arts college with a GPA above 3.0 at the junior college graduate
at the same rate as native students, while transfer students with a GPA below 3.0 at the
junior college were 13% less likely to graduate than native students.
Other Academic Factors
In addition to increased academic intensity and transfer GPA, articulation
agreements, course selection and transfer shock are academic factors that can affect
transfer student success. Contrary to the opinion of many transfer students, articulation
agreements between junior and senior institutions do not increase the likelihood that a
student will transfer, nor is that the stated goal of the agreements (Doyle, 2009). In their
review of the articulation statutes in place in all 50 states, Roska and Keith (2008) found
that the expressed goal of most articulation agreements is to prevent the loss of credits
during transfer. It can be extrapolated that preventing the loss of credits should decrease
time to degree by decreasing the number of units that a student must complete after
entering the senior institution. Although the agreements may prevent loss of credit, they
do not address the differences between instructional environments at the community
college and the senior institution, a factor that heavily affects transfer student success.
Although there is little formal research identifying how community college
students choose which courses to take, many guides attempt to provide advice to college
students on this subject. The how-to Web site eHow.com recommends that students first
plan to take major and general education courses and only consider elective courses after
20
those required courses have been selected (How to Choose, n.d.). Although this advice
may serve most students, it neglects students who have not selected a major program.
eHow also recommends that students ask their peers about courses and instructors; on
many campuses this student-student interaction has been replaced by internet based
repositories of course and instructor information. In addition to the advice provided on
eHow.com, the College Board recommends that students seek advising from
professionals at the institution and have clear plans and backup plans for registration day
(Choosing College Classes, n.d.). A non-scientific survey of advising staff at NVU
indicates general agreement with the advice from eHow and College Board as references
for NVU students, but demonstrate concern that these course selection guides are not well
suited for prospective transfer students because there is no mention of researching a
second institution or articulation agreements.
A short guide written specifically for students transferring to a UC campus offers
more relevant advice including choosing a campus and major early and refers students to
articulations agreements between the California community colleges and the UC
campuses (The Community College, n.d.). It is unclear how many prospective transfer
students find and follow this advice, and whether that advice is being reiterated in
community college counseling offices.
“Transfer shock” is a term used in the literature (Cejda et al., 1998, p. 677) to
describe the drop in a transfer student’s GPA during their first term at the senior
institution, often correcting during subsequent terms. In a study of transfer students at a
liberal arts college it was found that students with a pre-transfer GPA greater than 3.0
21
suffered declines in their GPA during their first term at the senior institution, whereas
those with a pre-transfer GPA less than 3.0 saw increases in their GPA (Cejda et al.,
1998). In a study of transfer students majoring in sciences at a research university,
Whitfield (2005) found that transfer shock does affect these students, but that their GPAs
do not necessarily recover over time. Whitfield called this a “transfer coma”, meaning a
decrease in GPA upon transferring that does not return to previous levels. In a study of
students who transferred from Thomas Nelson Community College to Christopher
Newport University, Quanty, Dixon, and Ridley (1999) found that students who took
prerequisite courses at the community college did as well in subsequent coursework as
native students who took the prerequisites at Christopher Newport University. In a study
of 100 transfer student to Benedictine College in the 1990s, Cejda (1997) observed that
students studying business, mathematics, and sciences suffered greater declines in their
GPA than the average transfer student. The researcher also observed that the GPAs of
some students increased upon transferring, particularly those studying education, fine
arts, humanities, and social sciences. Cejda called this increase in GPA “transfer ecstasy”
(p. 283). Contrary to these findings, in a study of transfer students in a wildlife science
program (Ditchkoff et al., 2003), no transfer shock or ecstasy were found; however, the
authors indicated that this difference may be attributed to the small class size in the
wildlife science program that may help transfer students build relationships with faculty
and other students, increasing their academic and social integration.
Best Practices and Recommendations
22
Many of the studies discussed in this chapter include best practices and
recommendations for increasing the success of transfer students at the senior institution.
Piland (1995) recommended that community college staff and faculty impress upon
prospective transfer students the importance of selecting a major and having a high GPA
and number of units and Flaga (2006) recommended that they emphasize making
connections at the senior institution prior to transferring and living on campus. Doyle
(2009) suggested that, because transfer rates are higher for students who take greater
numbers of units at the community college, institutions create policies and incentives to
encourage and enable students to take more units each term. Bryant (2001) recommended
that to increase transfer student success rates senior institutions provide good training for
their faculty and staff on transfer student services and issues and increase financial aid to
transfer students. In a study of university staff who advise and counsel transfer students,
it was found that a number of best practices may ease transfer student transitions and
thereby improve success rates (McGowan, 2006). These practices included developing
strong networks between community colleges and senior institutions, providing
orientations and workshops designed specifically for transfer students, and supporting
transfer student social groups.
Flaga (2006) found that transfers students sought advice from peers and family
more often than they sought advice from formal counselors, advisors, faculty, or other
students services professionals, so she recommended that services for transfer students
create opportunities for peer interaction: peer advising, peer mentoring, social clubs and
networks. Flaga (2006) and Townsend (2008) found that transfer students want services
23
and programs that are specifically designed with them in mind. Flaga highlighted the
importance of connecting transfer students with the academic, social, and physical
environments of the senior institution. Townsend advised on the wants of transfer
students in an orientation program; transfer students felt that the orientation program
should be transfer student specific, involve successful continuing transfer students,
include a reception with faculty, and time for the students to interact and build
relationships. The students Townsend interviewed also requested that transfer students be
given their own residence hall; they did not want to share rooms with freshman students.
Differences Between Disciplines
In gathering literature regarding transfer student success in specific disciplines,
the primary revelation is the lack of published research in this area. Standard models of
student success do not incorporate area of study as a factor (Quanty et al., 1999).
Whitfield (2005) articulated this void in the literature: “These studies typically compare
students on broad, macroscopic measures such as time to graduation or GPA after
transferring. Such measures obscure important variation that may exist at the course or
department level” (p. 542). Noted by Ditchkoff et al. (2003), “…little or no data are
available regarding academic performance of transfer students in wildlife science
programs” (p. 1022).
Though limited, a few studies offer discipline specific information (Cejda, 1997;
Ditchkoff et al., 2003; Lewis & Lewis, 2000; Pascarella et al., 1986; Whitfield, 2005).
Within life sciences programs there are more men than women and fewer Blacks,
24
Hispanics, and Native Americans than would be expected based on their percentages of
the college student population, and although life sciences students make up 7.3% of the
enrollment at four year institutions, they make up only 2.8% of the enrollment at two year
institutions (Horn & Neville, 2006). From a study on the success of transfer students in a
nursing program, the best predictors of transfer student success were GPA in the specific
nursing prerequisite courses and higher numbers of transferred credit hours (Lewis &
Lewis, 2000).
Glass and Bunn (1998) noted that a student’s choice of major approached
significance as a factor affecting time to degree, and that further study in this area is
necessary. The need to study transfer students in the sciences may be particularly
important in increasing the diversity amongst the ranks of professionals in health careers
(Whitfield, 2005). “Since community colleges serve a disproportionate share of minority
and low-income students, the degree to which these students succeed upon transferring
can have a direct impact on the number of underrepresented groups in these professions”
(Whitfield, 2005, p. 532).
Rationale for the Study
As demonstrated, the literature concerning the success of transfer students at the
senior institution is rich when considered generally. When probed for specifics however,
the literature fails in a number of categories. Most relevant to this study is the lack of
literature regarding students studying biological sciences and regarding the success of
students as related to the type of coursework they completed at the junior college,
25
particularly the completion of courses that are credited toward the major at the senior
institution compared to those that are credited toward other degree requirements.
Based on anecdotal evidence in the form of informal conversations with academic
and admissions advisors, major programs in the biological sciences at NVU have adopted
more rigid transfer admission requirements in the last decade. The additional
requirements have called for transfer students to complete specific prerequisite
coursework before transferring. The additional admissions requirements do not include
all lower-division courses necessary to complete the major, just the courses the advisors
and faculty feel are necessary to complete prior to transferring if the student is to
graduate from NVU in two years.
This study attempts to help fill the gap in the literature as described, while also
assessing the necessity of the new admissions policies at NVU. Specifically, if the study
shows that transfer students who complete more major courses pre-transfer are more
successful than those who complete fewer major courses pre-transfer, selective majors
are NVU will have rationale for continuing their selectivity, or increasing their
selectivity. If the study shows that transfer student success has no correlation with the
number of major courses completed pre-transfer, it will give cause to selective majors to
reconsider their admissions policies. The results of the study may also influence how
perspective transfer students are advised regarding pre-transfer coursework.
26
Summary
There are a number of academic and non-academic factors that are linked to
transfer student success at the senior institution. Among the non-academic factors that
decrease transfer student success are lower socioeconomic status (Melguizo & Dowd,
2009), being male (Bletcher, 2006; Piland, 1995), working while in school (Glass &
Bunn, 1998), being black or Pacific Islander (Piland, 1995), feeling that success is out of
the sphere of control (Wang, 2008), and feeling disconnected academically and socially
(Bletcher, 2006; Pascarella et al. 1986). Positively affecting transfer student success are
higher socio-economic status, being female, being unemployed while in school, being
White or Asian (non-Pacific Islander), feeling in control, and being socially and
academically connected.
The primary academic factors that decrease transfer student success are low GPA
at the junior college (Cejda et al., 1998; Ditchkoff et al., 2003; Lewis & Lewis, 2000) and
part-time status at the senior institution (Berkner et al., 1996; Doyle, 2009; Lee et al.,
1993). High GPA, full time enrollment, and having a large number of units completed
prior to transferring are all correlated with increase transfer student success. Transfer
shock appears to be a reality for many students, but the relative affect and persistence of
the transfer shock may vary based on pre-transfer GPA and area of study (Cejda et al.,
1998; Whitfield, 2005). Articulation agreements have not been demonstrated to have any
affect on transfer student success (Roska & Keith, 2008).
There is little literature on the relative success of transfer students from different
disciplines, but there is consensus that area of study may be an important factor and
27
should be further investigated (Quanty et al. 1999). This study attempts to fill a part of
that void.
28
Chapter 3
METHODOLOGY
Introduction
The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between pre-transfer
coursework and transfer student success and to identify other factors that influence
transfer student success at the senior institution. Specific questions to be addressed were:
1. Is there a relationship between the number of major and non-major courses
completed prior to transferring and GPA at the senior institution? If so, what
is that relationship?
2. Is there a relationship between the number of major and non-major courses
completed prior to transferring and terms to degree at the senior institution? If
so, what is that relationship?
3. Which factors influence a student’s course selection at the community
college?
4. Which other academic factors influence transfer student success?
Questions 1 and 2 were investigated through analysis of transcript data and
questions 3 and 4 were investigated through focus groups with current transfer students.
Setting of the Study
This study was conducted at Northern Valley University (NVU) which is located
in Valley City in the north central valley of California. Valley City is home to
29
approximately 64,000 residents. The town is known for its liberal, well educated, and
outspoken residents. With a student population nearly half as numerous as the city’s
population, Valley City has the feel of a college town. NVU is a tier one research
institution with more than 1,500 full time faculty and has an very large physical campus.
Over half of all undergraduate students participate in research activities. The university
offers more than 100 undergraduate majors and awards more than 5,700 baccalaureate
degrees annually. The majority of the university’s more than 24,000 undergraduate
students live within 15 miles of the main campus, and 90% of freshman students and 25%
of new transfer students live in campus residence halls. The undergraduate population is
highly traditional in age; only 4% of the undergraduates are over the age of 25. No ethnic
group represents a majority of the undergraduates at NVU. The ethnic demographics in
2008 were Asian/Pacific Islander 41%, White 36%, Hispanic 13%, Black 3%, American
Indian/Alaskan Native 1%, Race/Ethnicity Unknown 6%, and International 2%.
Population and Sample
This study examines the relationship between pre-transfer coursework and
success at the senior institution among transfer students in the Biotechnology major at
NVU and the methods of community college course selection by transfer students in the
Biotechnology major at NVU. This study involved two research methods, transcript data
analysis and focus groups, each with a distinct sample from the population of former and
current transfer students to the Biotechnology major at NVU.
30
A review of transcript data was completed for all transfer students from a
California community college into the Biotechnology major whose first term at NVU was
fall quarter 2002 through 2007. In an effort to eliminate confounding variables, several
groups of students were eliminated from the study. Students whose first enrollment term
was winter or spring quarter were excluded from this review because the Biotechnology
curriculum is designed to be started in fall quarter. Including data for students who
started in winter quarter or spring would have introduced NVU curriculum as an
independent variable that may affect a student’s time to degree or success in coursework.
Data were not available for students entering before fall 2002. Data were available for
terms more recent than fall 2007, however many of the students who entered in fall 2008
or 2009 had not completed their degrees at the time the data were collected, so they were
excluded. Data for students who transferred from schools other than California
community colleges were omitted from the data set because the articulation for their pretransfer coursework is complicated and not reliably reproduced by the researcher.
Purposive sampling was selected for the focus groups because the opinions of the
students most knowledgeable about the transfer experience in the Biotechnology major
were to be solicited. Continuing NVU Biotechnology transfer students, as opposed to
graduated transfer students, were selected for focus groups because current contact
information for those students was reliable and available and the students proximity to
campus mitigated travel time and expense as a barrier to participating in the focus groups.
Students from the list of current Biotechnology transfer students who had transferred
from a California community college were contacted via e-mail at random to request their
31
participation in a focus group. Students were contacted until three focus groups with six
participants each were arranged. The students who participated did so voluntarily, thus
the sampling was not truly random. The researcher hoped to have four or five participants
in each focus group, so six participants were assigned to each group with the expectation
that one or two students who agreed to participate would not attend. Selecting focus
group participants from among only current students also helped in gathering a rather
homogenous group, or at minimum, a group of peers as related to their academic standing
and program. The researcher’s goal was to solicit honest and meaningful responses, and
Schuh and Upcraft (2001) indicated that ideas and opinions are shared more freely among
homogenous groups.
Design of the Study
Data Collection
The first part of this study was analysis of a data set that included transcript
information from Biotechnology transfer students. The data points provided included
previously attended colleges, transfer GPA, number of courses transferred, number of
major courses transferred, terms enrolled at NVU, current standing (graduated,
continuing, withdrawn, dismissed), major at transfer, current major, and NVU GPA. The
data were collected by advising staff in the Biotechnology advising office and was
provided to the researcher without identifying information of the participants.
The second part of the study was a series of focus groups inquiring into various
aspects of course selection at the community college. Focus groups were conducted
32
among current NVU Biotechnology transfer students who had transferred from a
California community college. This study lends itself to the focus group research
methodology because the aim was to identify the opinions and experiences of the
students. Schuh and Upcraft (2001) indicated that focus groups are particularly well
suited to studies that seek to determine the perceptions, beliefs, or opinions of the
participants. The recruited participants gathered in an easily accessible room on the NVU
campus. The room included a conference table with chairs surrounding and a dry erase
board. The door to the room was kept shut to minimize distractions to the researcher and
participants and to limit ambient noise to the audio recorder. Upon their arrival the
participants were provided with lunch, nametags, pens, and paper. After five minutes had
passed the researcher made a brief statement about the study and focus group protocols,
then provided the participants with the informed consent document (Appendix A). The
participants signed the consent form and introduced themselves to the other participants,
then the focus group questions began. The focus groups responded to 10 questions. When
the participants asked for clarification regarding a question or a topic that had come up in
conversation the researcher was careful to provide only necessary clarifications and avoid
influencing the participant’s responses. Each focus group session was scheduled to last
one hour. The researcher took notes throughout the focus group session, particularly to
document non-verbal cues that would not be reflected in the audio recording. The entirety
of the session was tape recorded. After the groups were completed, the audio recording
was transcribed for later analysis.
33
Instrumentation
Following guidelines established by Schuh and Upcraft (2001), the focus group
questions were designed to be clear and open-ended, while avoiding leading and yes or
no questions. The focus group questions were designed to generally move the
conversation from broad examples to recalling specific experiences and stating opinions
about course selections and factors that influenced success. There were two advantages to
this design. First, allowing the students to speak broadly gave them a chance to connect
and build trust in each other, increasing the likelihood that they would feel comfortable
sharing more specific thoughts later in the session. Second, it allowed the students to
initiate topics of conversation they felt were significant before they were limited by the
narrower questions asked by the researcher. The tentative focus group questions were
piloted in November 2009 with a group of six graduate students including a former
transfer student. Based on the feedback received from that group, a number of changes
were made to the organization and wording of the questions. The instrument is available
in Appendix B.
There were three main questions the researcher hoped to answer through the focus
groups:
1. What barriers did the participants see to being successful at NVU?
2. How did students come to take the courses they did at the community college?
3. How did the students feel about the current selective major requirements for
the Biotechnology major?
34
Having reviewed the literature regarding student course selection, the researcher
included questions to elicit information regarding academic counselors, role of peers in
course selection, and publications that affected course enrollment.
Data Analysis Procedures
Analysis of the transcript data set was primarily accomplished using inferential
statistics. First the data were grouped by student status. The data set included 104 student
records. Twenty-six of the records represented students who had transferred to NVU as
Biotechnology majors, but subsequently changed their majors; these records were not
included in any further analysis. Nine of the records represented students who had left the
university for reasons other than academic dismissal; these records were not included in
any further analysis. Six of the records represented students who had been dismissed
from the university for academic reasons; these records were not included in any further
analysis. Two records represented students who were still enrolled at NVU at the time the
data were collected; these records were not included in further analysis. Although it
would have been interesting to test for differences between the students who were still
enrolled, those who had been dismissed, and those who graduated, with such a small
samples the data would not reach statistical significance. The other 63 records
represented students who had completed their baccalaureate degree in Biotechnology at
NVU. These data were arranged into subgroups of by number of total courses transferred,
number of major courses transferred, and number of non-major courses transferred. Then
the data were examined using Microsoft Excel 2007. Statistical tested used included two
sample equal variance t-tests, two sample unequal variance t-test, two sample F-tests for
35
variance, means, and Pearson’s r correlations to test for relationships between courses
and GPA and courses and terms to degree.
Analysis of the focus group data was a more lengthy process. First, the audio
recordings of the focus groups were transcribed verbatim. Then the transcription was
condensed by removing extraneous verbal statements such as um, you know, uh, and like.
The data were classified by topic such as counselors, peer advice, course instructors,
IGETC, etc. Some statements were sorted into more that one category if they crossed
topics. Twenty-eight categories were created. From those twenty-eight categories, the
researcher identified three broader themes. The frequencies of the statements in each
category and theme were tallied. This information was paired with the non-verbal data
the researcher had collected during the focus group sessions to illustrate the relative
importance of the participants statements.
36
Chapter 4
DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
Introduction
The purpose of this study is to investigate factors that influence transfer student
success at the senior institution. These specific research questions are being considered:
1. Is there a relationship between the number of major and non-major courses
completed prior to transferring and GPA at the senior institution? If so, what
is that relationship?
2. Is there a relationship between the number of major and non-major courses
completed prior to transferring and terms to degree at the senior institution? If
so, what is that relationship?
3. Which factors influence a student’s course selection at the community
college?
4. Which other academic factors influence transfer student success?
The data to be reported in this chapter were collected through focus groups and
from student’s academic transcripts. Because there were two research methodologies, the
research findings will be presented in two sections, the first relating the findings from the
focus groups and the second discussing the results of the statistical analysis of the
transcript data.
37
Focus Group Results
The focus group comments were separated into 28 categories. From these 28
categories, three themes emerged: factors at the community college that affect transfer
student success, factors at the university that affect transfer student success, and tools
used to select courses at the community college. There were four categories that did not
fit into these three themes. The findings from those categories will be presented last.
38
Table 1
Frequency of Comments in Focus Groups
Category
Frequency
Factors at the community college that affect transfer student success
Advice about which instructors to take courses from
7
Limited course offerings
4
Multiple community college counselors
7
Need to identify target school or program
7
Transfer Admission Guarantee
4
Transfer Opportunity Program
5
Factors at Northern Valley University that affect transfer student success
Articulation
5
Class size
8
Course scheduling conflicts
3
Information speed and density in the quarter system
13
Instructional technologies
6
Instructor-student interaction
7
Limited course offerings
8
Time and stress management
3
39
Course selection tools
Assist.org
8
Catalogs
7
Community college counselors
11
Handouts
4
IGETC
6
Receiving advice from community college instructors
2
Receiving advice from peers
12
Specialized support programs
4
Web sites
6
Other categories
Associate’s degrees
2
Minors
2
Number of community college courses completed
11
Selective major requirements for the Biotechnology major at NVU
10
40
Theme: Factors at the Community College that Affect Transfer Student Success
Category: Need to identify a target school or program. During the course of the
focus groups, seven comments were made regarding the need for a prospective transfer
student to have identified a target school and major program in order to spend her time at
the community college most efficiently. Two comments addressed the participants
indecision about their target school and program, and, looking back, those participants
recognized that they had wasted time taking extra coursework that was not useful at
NVU. Two other participants touched on how having a target school affected their
experience with community college counselors. One participant was very pleased with
her community college counselor because, having been presented with the participants
target school and major program, the counselor was able to create a very efficient
education plan. The second participant had not decided on a target school and indicated
dissatisfaction with his community college counselor’s inability to create an acceptable
educational plan for his situation. Knowing the target school seemed to correlate with
having more direct contact with that school. Two participants indicated that once they
had determined their target schools they stopped meeting with community college
counselors, opting instead to correspond with counselors and advisors at the target
school.
Category: Limited course offerings. Four participants commented on the affect of
limited course offerings at the community college. One participant stated that he was
required to take a particular calculus course prior to his transfer to NVU, but to due the
vastly greater demand for the course than the number of seats available he had to wait list
41
for the course at three different community colleges to get a seat. Two participants
commented on the difficulty of taking sequential courses in successive terms because the
courses had overlapping times with other limited enrollment courses.
Category: Transfer Opportunity Program. There were five comments regarding
the Transfer Opportunity Program. The Transfer Opportunity Program is a transfer
student preparation and recruitment program run by NVU. The NVU admissions office
employs admissions counselors who provide weekly outreach at community colleges.
The community college students have in-person access to the NVU counselors each week
without having to leave their community college campus. All of the comments indicated
that the participants were satisfied with the service of the Transfer Opportunity counselor.
Two students indicated that the presence of the Transfer Opportunity counselor made
their community college counselors unnecessary; they received all of the advising they
needed from the Transfer Opportunity counselor and only visited the community college
counselor when they needed forms completed by a college official.
Category: Transfer Admission Guarantee. Eight of the twelve participants in the
first two focus groups had been admitted to NVU by a Transfer Admission Guarantee.
Two other participants indicated that they had tried to be admitted by Transfer Admission
Guarantee, but were denied for having completed too many units prior to transferring.
Two participants stated that the availability of the Transfer Admission Guarantee was a
factor in selecting NVU as their target school. From one participant regarding the
Transfer Admission Guarantee, “Do this and we’ll guarantee you admission. That sounds
so much better than will I get in or will I not?”
42
Category: Multiple community college counselors. Over the course of the three
focus groups, seven comments referred to the participants having worked with multiple
community college counselors. The primary reason the participants gave for seeing
multiple counselors was that the educational plans created by the different counselors
were not consistent and the participants liked having those options. Some participants
indicated that they switched counselors after realizing that their original counselors’ ideas
of a good educational plan differed from their own ideas for various reasons: the
counselor expected the participant to take more math and science courses per semester
than the participant wanted to take, the counselor expected the participant to take summer
courses, or the counselor created a less intense educational plan that left the student with
many uncompleted preparatory courses.
Category: Advice about which instructors to take courses from. Seven focus
group participants commented that they had sought advice regarding which community
college instructors to take courses from. The majority of these comments were focused on
the advice the students had received from their peers, which is not surprising because one
of the focus group questions specifically asked about advice from peers. In addition to the
instructor advice they received from their peers, two students mentioned that they had
received advice about which instructors to enroll with from their community college
counselors. When requesting advice about courses and instructors from their peers the
participants were interested in two measures, the quality of the instruction and the relative
ease or difficulty of the course.
Theme: Factors at Northern Valley University that Affect Transfer Student Success
43
Category: Limited course offerings at Northern Valley University. Eight
comments were made related to limited course availability at NVU. This is twice as many
comments as were made related to limited course availability at the community college.
All of the comments were disparaging of the tendency of NVU courses to be offered only
once per year, meaning that an error in course scheduling could set students back a full
year. The participants found this particularly troubling when a course that is offered only
once per year is a prerequisite for another course that is offered only once per year. Two
participants described the stress they felt when taking a course that is offered only once
per year. They were fearful that they would not be able to pass the course, and that failure
in only that one course could significantly impact their time to degree. One participant
lamented that she had hoped to complete a minor, but was daunted by the scheduling
problems it might create.
Category: Course scheduling conflicts. Focus group participants made three
comments specifically regarding overlapping time schedules for courses they were
planning to take. One student commented on a course that he had been trying to take for
three quarters, but the course required attendance for one hour every Monday through
Friday afternoon. The student always had a required laboratory course at least one
afternoon each week, so he was planning to take the other course during the summer.
Category: Articulation. Participants commented five times on articulation
problems that had affected them. Two participants noted the articulation limitations of
transferring to a quarter system school from a semester system school. Both participants
had taken the first semester of a two semester course series prior to transferring. When
44
they arrived at NVU they were credited with one quarter of the three quarter series at
NVU, so were required to take two more courses to complete the course series. Another
participant commented on the different preparatory requirements necessary for transfer to
different schools, though the major programs at those schools were very similar. She had
completed the physics requirement for one of her target schools, but realized when she
arrived at NVU that the physics requirement was different. She had to take another
quarter of physics at NVU to finish the requirement.
One of the focus group participants had taken coursework at an out-of-state four
year institution before moving to California and attending a community college. He
struggled to cross-reference the information he received about how NVU would apply his
community college coursework, how NVU would apply his out-of-state coursework, and
how the community college would apply his out-of-state coursework. Finally, one student
commented that he had attended two community colleges. At the first community college
he took introductory biology, which was a three semester series, then he switched to the
second community college and found that the equivalent biology series was only two
semesters. He felt he should have had that information sooner and that he had wasted
time and money by taking biology at the first community college.
As these participant comments demonstrate, articulation is an extremely complex
process and problem. Each participant related very different issues with the articulation
process and illustrated the need for more effective transfer pathways and increased
communication between and amongst community colleges and four year institutions.
45
Category: Information speed and density in the quarter system. With 13
comments, this category includes more comments than any other category. This
underscores the prevalence of transfer student difficulty adjusting to the differences
between a semester system school and a quarter system school. One participant indicated
that her trouble was not the academic level of the course material, but was the amount of
material covered in the course. Another participant said,
Jumping from semester to quarter was the hardest thing that I had to deal with
because in semester you have til the second month before you buy the book,
before you start reading, before you even start going to class, but here, in the
second week you have an exam. You don’t have time to relax.
None of the participants demonstrated regard for the speed and density of the material at
NVU, all of the comments were negative.
Category: Class size. There were eight comments, at least one from each focus
group regarding class size of NVU. Specifically, the comments indicated that the
participants were intimidated or uncomfortable in the large courses at NVU. The
participants felt the size of the classes negatively impacted their success in the two ways.
First, the participants were either unable or unwilling to connect with faculty or to ask
questions during class. Second, the participants felt they were more often disengaged
from the faculty member and class presentation and more often disrupted by other
students in large courses. One participant mentioned that during her community college
courses students were generally engaged in class, whereas at NVU people send text
messages, eat, sleep, and play games during class. The participants were accustomed to a
46
community college environment where their instructors knew them, and mentioned
difficulty acclimating to an environment where it is very common that the students and
instructor will never have any direct communication. Another student shared his strategy
to mitigate these problems, “I feel more comfortable when I sit in the front seat, so I
don’t feel 300 people that I have to stare at, I feel like it’s working much better.”
Category: Instructor-student interaction. The participants were unhappy with the
quality and quantity of instructor-student interaction at NVU; seven comments were
related to instructor-student interaction. The most common example the participants gave
was instructor office hours. In their community college the instructors had many office
hours each week and took time during office hours to get to know the students. The
faculty office hours at NVU were infrequent and when the students attended office hours
they felt their instructors were rushing to answer their questions and send them away. The
participants felt that their time with faculty was rarely one on one; if they were seeking
individual attention they turned to graduate student teaching assistants.
Category: Instructional technologies. There were six comments about the use of
instructional technologies at NVU; all of the comments indicated that the participants
were pleased with the use of instructional technologies. Three different technologies were
referenced: personal audio recordings, course Web portals, and instructor’s podcasts.
Two participants indicated that having access to an audio recording, whether personally
recorded or provided as a podcast, was more necessary for their success at NVU than it
had been at the community college because the speed of presentation at NVU was much
faster than at their community college. From one participant, “Podcasts used to be
47
something you listened to because you missed class, but now its something you listen to
because you were at class and you didn’t catch everything.” On the contrary, another
participant felt the easy availability of lecture notes through the course portal and the
podcasts made him lazy and less likely to attend lectures.
Category: Time and stress management. Three comments were made regarding
time and stress management. These topics came up during only two of the three focus
groups. All of the comments indicated that the participants were not prepared for the time
pressures and stress they felt at NVU. One participant, who stated that she had taken a
part-time job during her first quarter at NVU, said, “I used to think I had great time
management skills. I definitely had to work on that.” Another participant said bluntly, “If
you have no time management, and you come here, the first quarter you just get
destroyed.”
Theme: Course Selection Tools
Category: Assist.org. Participants in each focus group commented on their use of
the course articulation Web site Assist.org. In the first focus group six of the seven
participants indicated that they had used Assist.org to choose classes or to see how their
classes might be applied toward degrees at various target schools. The lone student in that
focus group who had not used Assist.org noted, “That’s why I needed so much help.”
Another student vented his frustration that a more comprehensive Web site does not exist.
He had taken coursework at both an out-of-state university and a California community
college and had difficulty figuring out how to apply those courses to the various target
schools he was considering. Most of the participants indicated that they had first learned
48
about Assist.org while meeting with a community college counselor, then used it on their
own. It is not surprising to observe that most of the participants used Assist.org to help
them choose coursework; Assist.org is viewed by counselors, advisors, and admissions
officers as the most comprehensive tool for course articulation among California’s public
institutes of higher education.
Category: IGETC certifications. The Intersegmental General Education Transfer
Curriculum (IGETC) certification came up during two of the three focus groups, and six
comments were made on the subject. When the participants were responding to questions
regarding how they selected courses to take at the community college, two participants
indicated that they followed IGETC course guides provided by their community college
counselors. This is contrary to the advice received by two other participants whose
community college counselors advised them against completing IGETC in favor of
completing more major requirements or transferring sooner. One student indicated that he
had planned to complete IGETC so he could get an associate’s degree before transferring,
but when he realized how long it would take to complete IGETC he decided against
pursuing the associate’s degree.
Category: Specialized support programs. In discussing the participant’s
experiences with academic counseling at the community colleges four participants shared
that they had received counseling through a specialized support program in addition to or
in lieu of the general counseling center. The participants identified three of these
specialized programs: Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS),
International Counseling, and Puente. Three of the four participants indicated that they
49
were pleased with the counseling they received through these programs, the other
participant felt the counselors were having her take too much unnecessary coursework, so
she stopped using the program. The student who had been involved with EOPS observed
that she was more confident in her educational plan than other students; “When we were
in [EOPS] we had to meet with the advisor three times each semester, so I didn’t need to
worry about my schedule.”
Category: Community college counselors. All of the focus group participants
indicated that they had met with a community college counselor at least once prior to
transferring to NVU. There were 11 comments regarding community college counseling.
Four of the participants were very pleased with the advice and guidance they received;
they made statements like, “I would have been pretty lost without her,” and “She was an
amazing counselor.” One participant was unhappy with her counseling experience at the
community college. She felt that the counselors weren’t creating an efficient course plan
for her so she stopped seeing counselors and created her own course plan. Many of the
participants indicated that they had worked with multiple counselors at the community
college and that access to multiple counselors was beneficial. The number of participants
who discussed having worked with multiple counselors were numerous enough to
warrant creating a separate category for those comments. That category is discussed as
part of the theme regarding factors at the community college that affect transfer student
success.
Category: Receiving advice from peers. Many of the participants indicated that
they had received advice from other students. There were 12 comments made during the
50
focus groups about receiving advice from peers and multiple comments were made in
each of the three focus groups. The participants sought advice from both students at their
community college and students at NVU. The participants received advice about whether
or not the NVU students would recommend they apply to NVU, what coursework was
necessary to transfer to NVU, which community college instructors were good, which
community college classes were hard or easy, which courses you could wait another year
to take, which courses you could wait to take at NVU, and which courses you should take
in the same term.
Category: Receiving advice from community college instructors. Although
comments about receiving course advice from community college instructors were not as
prevalent as comments about receiving advice from counselors and peers, two
participants indicated that the advice they received from their instructors gave them
perspective they could not have received from their counselors or peers. One participant
said that her instructors were familiar with courses at NVU and the types of laboratory
skills she would need. The instructors directed her to community college courses that
would prepare her for NVU. The other participant who commented that her instructors
had given her advice also stated that those instructors were NVU alumni, so they were
able to share information about academic and non-academic topics.
Category: Web sites. In addition to Assist.org, participants identified four other
Web sites they used to help them select courses to take at the community college. There
were six comments about Web sites other than Assist.org. Two participants mentioned
navigating to the Biotechnology major Web page on the NVU Web site to find out more
51
information about their target major program and to confirm that the course requirements
on Assist.org were correct. One participant mentioned using the community college’s
online catalog and another participant had used two different Web sites to find course and
instructor reviews. One of those Web sites was http://ratemyprofessors.com; the
participant could not recall the name or address of the other Web site.
Category: Catalogs. The focus group participants commented seven times about
using college catalogs to help them decide which courses to take at the community
college. One participant indicated that she relied on catalogs to choose community
college courses much more than she does to choose courses at NVU. Another participant
commented that at the community college the catalogs were free, but at NVU students
have to buy the catalogs. One participant had a copy of the NVU catalog while he was a
student at the community college and used the NVU catalog to help select community
college courses.
Category: Handouts. Four participants commented that they had used various
handouts to help them select courses at the community college. The participants had
received the handouts from the counseling centers or transfer centers at their community
colleges or from an NVU representative during a transfer presentation or on transfer day.
The handouts were either IGETC course guides or transfer requirements pamphlets from
target schools.
Other Categories
Category: Associate’s degree. The topic of associate’s degrees came up in only
two of the three focus groups. The general sentiment of the participants was that
52
completing all of the extra requirements necessary to earn an associate’s degree was not a
good use of time, but if the student was going to stay at the community college for three
or four years then they might finish it along the way. The focus group participants were
sure of their goals to complete a baccalaureate degree, so they felt the associate’s degree
was unnecessary.
Category: Minors. Only two participants discussed minors; their opinions were
rather different. The first participant had hoped to complete a minor at NVU but found
the rigid scheduling of the courses for the Biotechnology major was too big a barrier. The
second participant had insisted on completing a minor at NVU because she felt the
Biotechnology major curriculum was very homogenous and she wanted greater breadth
in her education. It is not surprising that few participants commented on minors; most
transfer students into the Biotechnology major at NVU are very busy completing
minimum graduation requirements and are unwilling to extend their undergraduate
careers by the approximately two quarters needed to complete a minor.
Category: Number of community college courses completed. The participants
made 11 comments about the number of community college courses they completed prior
to transferring to NVU. One participant indicated that if she had it to do over again she
would take less courses at the community college and would transfer to NVU sooner. All
of the other ten comments indicated that those participants would have preferred to have
taken more courses at the community college prior to transferring to NVU. The
participants felt less pressure at the community college. One participant said,
53
I was thinking the more I take [at the community college], the less I have to do [at
NVU]. I was thinking more economically. In case I screw up [at the community
college], I think it was $20 each unit, so a five-unit class was a hundred bucks,
whereas [at NVU] it’s, I don’t know how much, $3000.
Most of the participants wished they had taken more major required courses at the
community college. Particularly, they indicated that they would have completed biology,
physics, and organic chemistry before transferring. One participant wished she had taken
more general education courses at the community college.
Category: Selective major requirements for the Biotechnology major at NVU.
One focus group question asked the participants to consider the selective major
requirements for the Biotechnology major at NVU. Many participants simply indicated
that the selective major requirements were reasonable, but some participants
recommended changes. None of the participants recommended making changes to the
general chemistry or calculus requirements. There were two alternate recommendations
to the current biology requirement. The current biology requirement is one quarter of
transferable biology with a minimum GPA of 3.0 in that course, or two or more quarters
of transferable biology with a minimum GPA of 2.5 in those courses. The first
recommendation was that prospective transfer students be required to complete at least
two quarters of transferrable biology; the second recommendation was that prospective
transfer students be required to complete all three quarters of the biology series prior to
transferring. The participants who recommended these increased requirements indicated
the importance of the biology courses as prerequisites to many NVU courses; students
54
can have trouble progressing in their upper-division coursework if those courses are not
completed. One participant noted that he really wanted to get involved in research right
away at NVU. During his first quarter at NVU he had an interview for a research
internship. The interviewer asked him if he had completed biology laboratory courses,
luckily he had completed them at the community college. He was selected for the
research internship and felt that he would not have been considered for the internship if
he had not completed the full year of biology before he transferred.
Many participants indicated that they wished they had completed physics prior to
transferring to NVU, but they were not convinced that physics should be added to the
selective major requirements. They recommended that NVU find a way to more strongly
suggest that prospective transfer students complete physics before transferring.
The last set of courses the participants considered adding to the selective major
requirements was organic chemistry. The participants felt that adding organic chemistry
to the selective major requirements was generally a good idea; though some felt a
stronger recommendation was more appropriate. The reasons they cited for adding
organic chemistry were that many transfer students struggle in organic chemistry at NVU
and that organic chemistry is a prerequisite for many upper-division courses for the
Biotechnology major. One participant was concerned that the organic chemistry courses
offered at the community colleges were not as rigorous as the organic chemistry courses
at NVU, so the students who took organic chemistry at the community colleges might be
disadvantaged in further courses at NVU.
55
Transcript Review Results
Analysis of the transcript data used inferential statistics. The data set included 63
records for transfer students from a California community college into the Biotechnology
major at NVU who had graduated. Inferential statistics used to analyze the data included
two sample equal variance t-tests, two sample unequal variance t-test, Levene’s two
sample F-tests for homogeneity of variance, means, and Pearson’s r correlations to test
for relationships between courses and GPA and courses and terms to degree. The
statistical analysis procedures were performed three times to compare (a) major courses
completed, (b) non-major courses completed, and (c) total courses completed to change
in GPA and terms to degree.
Relationship between Major Courses Completed at the Community College, GPA, and
Terms to Degree
The 63 records were separated into two groups, those with low numbers of major
courses completed prior to transferring, 5-11 courses, and those with high numbers of
major courses completed prior to transferring, 12-15 courses. Table 2 shows the average
difference between community college and NVU GPA, average terms to degree, and the
number of records for each of the two groups.
56
Table 2
Sample Statistics for Major Courses Completed
a
Major courses
completed
Change in GPAa M
Terms to degree M
Observations
5-11
-0.409
6.97
29
12-15
-0.339
6.44
34
Change in GPA equals NVU cumulative GPA minus community college cumulative GPA
Before testing for significance between the means in these two groups the
researcher must first determine whether or not the variances of the two groups are equal.
Using Levene’s F-test for homogeneity of variance, as in Table 3, led to the conclusion
that the variances in these groups can be considered equal. The null hypothesis in this,
and all other cases presented, is that there are no differences between the groups.
Table 3
Levene’s F-test for Homogeneity of Variance for Major Courses Completed
Success
Measure
F
p
Change in GPA
0.887
0.375
Terms to degree
1.816
0.051
With the knowledge that the variances can be considered equal, the data were
subjected to a two sample equal variance t-test. As indicated in Table 4, neither the
difference in mean GPA change between the groups or the difference in mean terms to
degree is significant at p<.05. From this the researcher can conclude that completing less
57
than twelve or more than eleven Biotechnology major courses prior to transferring to
NVU does not significantly affect student’s terms to degree or change in GPA.
Table 4
t-test for Equality of Means for Major Courses Completed
Success
Measure
t
df
p
Change in GPA
-0.698
61
0.488
Terms to degree
1.733
61
0.088
Note. Two sample t-test for equal variances.
The final statistic calculated from the data for major courses completed, change in
GPA, and terms to degree was the Pearson r correlation coefficient. As in Table 5, the
correlation coefficient for major courses completed and change in GPA was not
statistically significant at p<.05, however, the correlation coefficient for major courses
completed and terms to degree, -0.364, was significant at p<.01. That correlation can also
be visualized in Figure 1. It should be expected that the correlation coefficient for these
data would be negative; as the number of courses a student completes at the community
college increases, the number of terms they must complete at NVU to finish their
baccalaureate degree decreases.
58
Table 5
Pearson Correlations for Major Courses Completed
Success Measure
Major courses completed
Change in GPA
0.038
Terms to degree
-0.364*
Note: N=61 for all correlations
*P<.01
Figure 1
Correlation between major courses completed at the community college
and terms to degree at NVU.
59
Relationship between Non-major Courses Completed at the Community College, GPA,
and Terms to Degree
To analyze the effects of the number of non-major courses completed prior to
transferring, the 63 transcript records were split into two groups representing high
number of non-major courses completed, 7-8 courses, and low number of non-major
courses completed, 2-6 courses. Table 6 shows the average difference between
community college and NVU GPA, average terms to degree, and number of records in
each group.
Table 6
Sample Statistics for Non-major Courses Completed
Non-major courses
completed
Change in GPA M
Terms to degree M
Observations
2-6
-0.402
7.03
31
7-8
-0.342
6.34
32
In this case the outcome of the Levene’s F-test for homogeneity of variance, as in
Table 7, led the researcher to assume that the variance for change in GPA was equal, but
that the variance for terms of degree was unequal.
60
Table 7
Levene’s F-test for Homogeneity of Variance for Non-major Courses Completed
Success
Measure
F
p
Change in GPA
1.600
0.099
Terms to degree
2.713
0.004
The researcher used a two sample equal variance t-test to analyze the change in
GPA data, but used a two sample unequal variance t-test to analyze the terms to degree
data. As in Table 8, the difference in mean GPA change between students who completed
less than seven or more than six non-major courses was not significant. However, the
difference in terms to degree for these two groups was significant (p<.05).
Table 8
t-test for Equality of Means for Non-major Courses Completed
Success
Measure
t
df
p
Change in GPA
-0.598
61
0.552
Terms to degree
2.308
61
0.025
Mirroring the t-test results in Table 8, Table 9 shows that the correlation between
non-major courses completed and change in GPA was not significant at p<.05, but the
61
correlation between non-major courses completed, r=-.424 was significant at p<.01. This
correlation can be visualized in Figure 2.
Table 9
Pearson Correlations for Non-major Courses Completed
Success Measure
Non-major courses completed
Change in GPA
0.103
Terms to degree
-0.424*
Note: N=61 for all correlations; *P<.01
62
Figure 2
Correlation between non-major courses completed at the community
college and terms to degree at NVU.
Relationship between Total Courses Completed at the Community College, GPA, and
Terms to Degree
To analyze the effects of the number of total courses completed prior to
transferring, the 63 transcript records were split into two groups representing high
number of total courses completed, 18-22 courses, and low number of total courses
completed, 10-17 courses. Table 10 shows the average difference between community
college and NVU GPA, average terms to degree, and number of records in each group.
63
Table 10
Sample Statistics for Total Courses Completed
Total courses
completed
Change in GPA M
Terms to degree M
Observations
10-17
-0.423
7.30
30
18-22
-0.324
6.12
33
In this case the outcome of the Levene’s F-test for homogeneity of variance, as in
Table 11, led the researcher to assume that the variance for change in GPA was equal, but
that the variance for terms of degree was unequal.
Table 11
Levene’s F-test for Homogeneity of Variance for Total Courses Completed
Success
Measure
F
p
Change in GPA
1.238
0.277
Terms to degree
4.597
2.61x10-5
The researcher used a two sample equal variance t-test to analyze the change in
GPA data, but used a two sample unequal variance t-test to analyze the terms to degree
data. As in Table 12, the difference in mean GPA change between students who
completed less than 18 or more than 17 total courses was not significant. However, the
difference in terms to degree for these two groups was significant (p<.05).
64
Table 12
t-test for Equality of Means for Total Courses Completed
Success
Measure
t
df
p
Change in GPA
-0.983
61
0.329
Terms to degree
4.234
61
1.30x10-4
Like the t-test results in Table 12 pointed to, Table 13 shows that the correlation
between total courses completed and change in GPA was not significant at p<.05, but the
correlation between total courses completed, r=-.583 was significant at p<.01. This
correlation can be visualized in Figure 3.
Table 13
Pearson Correlations for Total Courses Completed
Success Measure
Total courses completed
Change in GPA
0.0945
Terms to degree
-0.583*
Note: N=61 for all correlations; *P<.01
65
Figure 3
Correlation between total courses completed at the community college and
terms to degree at NVU.
66
Chapter 5
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
In 2005 the Biotechnology major at NVU implemented a new set of admissions
requirements for transfer student with a goal of decreasing the time to degree for those
students. This study serves as one tool to measure the efficacy of the trend at NVU to
require more major course completion prior to transferring. After reviewing the literature
regarding transfer student success, the researcher chose to broaden the study from
analysis of transfer data to also collecting qualitative data from focus groups in order to
gain further insight into other factors that affect transfer student success at the senior
institution.
This study was designed to provide answers to the following questions:
1. Is there a relationship between the number of major and non-major courses completed
prior to transferring and GPA at the senior institution? If so, what is that relationship?
2. Is there a relationship between the number of major and non-major courses completed
prior to transferring and terms to degree at the senior institution? If so, what is that
relationship?
3. Which factors influence a student’s course selection at the community college?
4. Which other academic factors influence transfer student success?
Conclusions regarding the answers to these questions are presented in the
following section.
67
Conclusions
The researcher originally anticipated that the results from the review of transcript
data would answer the first two research questions and the results from the focus groups
would answer the last two research questions, but the data collected through each
methodology addressed more than two of the research questions.
Research Question: Is there a Relationship between the Number of Major and Non-major
Courses Completed Prior to Transferring and GPA at the Senior Institution? If so, what
is that Relationship?
As was demonstrated in chapter 4, the difference in mean GPA change from the
community college to NVU was not significant for groups with high or low numbers of
major, non-major, or total courses completed at the community college prior to
transferring. This conclusion is further validated by the lack of significant correlation
between GPA change and number of major, non-major, or total courses completed prior
to transferring.
There were a few comments in the focus groups about how student’s success in
NVU courses may have been affected by the number of courses they took at the
community college. Some participants felt that it was imperative that they get a solid
foundation in their major courses before leaving the community college, but others
voiced concern that the rigor of some community college courses may be too low to
adequately prepare students for NVU or that if they took lower-division major courses
early in their community college career they were likely to forget much of that
information before they began their studies at NVU.
68
Research Question: Is there a Relationship between the Number of Major and Non-major
Courses Completed Prior to Transferring and Terms to Degree at the Senior Institution?
If so, what is that Relationship?
The results for this question were mixed. The t-test results indicated significance
between average terms to degree for students who had completed high and low numbers
of non-major courses prior to transferring, as well as students who had completed high
and low numbers of total courses prior to transferring. The t-test results did not reveal a
significant difference in terms to degree for students who had completed high and low
numbers of major courses prior to transferring. From those results the researcher might
conclude that there is no relationship between the number of major courses completed
prior to transferring and terms to degree at NVU. The results of the correlation test make
that assertion less clear because there was a significant negative correlation between
major courses completed prior to transferring and terms to degree.
Based on the transcript data the researcher concluded that there is a significant
negative relationship between non-major courses completed and terms to degree.
Conflicting results lead to no conclusion regarding the relationship between major
courses completed and terms to degree.
It is not surprising that the correlations are negative. It is generally expected that
the more courses a student completes prior to transferring to the senior institution the
fewer terms she is expected to need at the senior institution to complete her degree. The
insignificance of the difference in mean terms to degree for student who has completed
many or few major courses is perhaps more surprising, particularly considering the
69
results of the focus groups. Although one participant indicated that she wished she had
completed more general education courses prior to transferring, many other participants
had hoped to complete more major courses prior to transferring. A possible explanation
for this difference is that there are benefits to completing more major courses prior to
transferring other than reduced terms to degree. One of the benefits may be a reduced per
term unit load a NVU.
It is also helpful to note that although many focus group participants were
concerned about major courses being offered only once per year at NVU, that is true only
of upper-division coursework. Lower-division courses, the equivalents of which could be
taken at the community college, are offered each quarter and during summer session at
NVU. This means that needing to complete additional lower-division preparatory courses
at NVU after transferring is less likely to cause scheduling problems than taking extra
upper-division courses, as a student would take for a minor or second major.
Research Question: Which Factors Influence a Student’s Course Selection at the
Community College?
The focus group participants employed some of the strategies cited in the
literature regarding course selection: They took major and general education classes in
lieu of electives, they discussed their course selection with their peers, they worked with
community college counselors and other counselors to create course plans, and they
reviewed articulation agreements between the community college and their target school.
In addition to these tools for community college course selection, the focus group
participants indicated that they had used IGETC guides, general catalogs, handouts,
70
institutional Web sites, instructor rating Web sites, and advice from their instructors to
select courses.
The difference between the reviewed literature and the focus group responses are
likely due to the transfer student status of the focus group participants. Most available
information regarding course selection assumes that the student is selecting courses that
will complete a requirement at their current institution. Particularly, the use of IGETC
guides, handouts received at transfer day, and the need to cross-reference different
school’s catalogs and Web sites is unnecessary for most native students and imperative
for most transfer students.
Research Question: Which other Academic Factors Influence Transfer Student Success?
Many of the factors cited in the literature that affect transfer student success were
mentioned by the focus group participants. Positively, the participants used articulation
guides and Web sites to aid in their course selection. Negatively, they struggled with lack
of instructor-student interaction and large class sizes at NVU. Made apparent in the
transcript data review, transfer students in the Biotechnology major do experience a
transfer coma; their average GPAs at NVU are 0.371 lower at NVU than at the
community college. Rounding to the nearest grade, this represents a mean drop in GPA
from a B+ average to a B average. This study did not assess first quarter transfer shock.
The literature did not address some of the factors the focus group participants
found to affect their success. Although the literature did discuss articulation, it did not
discuss the need to identify and difficulty in identifying a target school and program.
Without knowing which institution and major a transfer student plans to pursue selecting
71
courses and creating plans are extremely difficult. Students who have not selected a target
program may waste time and money taking courses at the community college that will
not fulfill requirements at their eventual senior institution.
The literature did not discuss the Transfer Opportunity Program (TOP) which is
not surprising because the program is specific to NVU. The many comments and high
regard the focus group participants showed for the TOP and the TOP counselors may
serve as a notice to other institutions that having a good, consistent outreach program to
the community colleges may be a way to increase the quantity and quality of the transfer
students from that community college.
The focus group participants made many comments about using multiple
counselors at the community colleges. They were able to find different perspective and
plans from different counselors and were able to select the counselor and plan that fit
them best. Students do not have this option at NVU. Academic advising at NVU is
decentralized in the departments. Most majors at NVU, including the Biotechnology
major, have only one counselor. It may be a weakness of the NVU advising system that
student are not able to work with multiple counselors.
The factor that the participants felt was most detrimental to their success at NVU
was the transition from a semester system at the community college to the quarter system
at NVU. The speed and density of the material presented in NVU courses was
overwhelming for the focus group participants. This shift in educational system caused
the participants to question their time and stress management skills.
72
As a counterbalance to their struggles with the speed of courses at NVU, the
participants were aided by the increased use of instructional technologies at NVU,
particularly the ability to access up-to-date course information and resources through
course Web portals and the common use of podcasting. It may be that further increasing
the use of instructional technologies will help transfer students in their transitions to
NVU academics.
Recommendations
Applications of the Study
The results of this study may be applicable for use by community college
counselors, NVU counselors, and NVU faculty and administrators. Staff and faculty who
work directly with prospective transfer students at the community college should provide
the following advice: Select a target school and program early in your community college
career in order to avoid wasting time and money taking unnecessary courses at the
community college and be in contact with officials at your target school to ensure smooth
transfer of coursework. When possible, the staff and faculty should try to prepare
students for the difficulties they’re likely to encounter at the senior institution.
Administrators at NVU should consider the ways they can ease transfer student
transitions to NVU. Workshops could be offered to provide transfer students with
strategies for connecting with faculty, adjusting to large class sizes, time management,
stress management, and succeeding in high speed quarter system courses. Administrators
at NVU may also want to weigh the benefits and problems related to having a
73
decentralized advising system that does not allow students the ability to receive major
course advice from multiple counselors. Also, because so many of the participants used
instructional technologies to mitigate their difficulty with the speed of NVU courses,
administrators may want to work closely with the academic senate to encourage
expansion and wider use of the technologies.
The curriculum committee for the Biotechnology major may want to work with
the undergraduate admissions office to add to their publications recommendations that
prospective transfer students complete biology, physics, and organic chemistry prior to
transferring.
Suggestions for Further Research
The researcher recommends that the quantitative part of this study be repeated for
other majors. As the previous literature demonstrated, there is little published research on
the success of transfer students in various disciplines. Particularly, the results for majors
similar to Biotechnology would be interesting for comparison. The major in Biological
Sciences at NVU would be a good choice for further study because it is similar to the
Biotechnology major program, has the same set of selective major requirements, and the
enrollment is greater than in the Biotechnology major, so the data may be richer or may
reach significance where the Biotechnology sample did not.
This study was able to demonstrate that transfer students in the Biotechnology
major suffered transfer coma. The data available to the researcher did not include
quarterly term GPAs, so the researcher could not address transfer shock in this population
74
or the extent to which the student’s GPAs may have recovered or worsened after their
first quarter at NVU. A study that included this information could be telling.
A study of the pre-transfer academic characteristics of transfer students who are
later dismissed from NVU for academic reasons could prove important for admissions
offices. The researcher was not able to consider this for the sample of Biotechnology
transfer students because the number of students who were dismissed was too low to
achieve significant results.
75
APPENDICES
76
APPENDIX A
Consent to Participate in a Research Study
77
CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN A RESEARCH STUDY
Investigator’s Name: Theresa Costa
Telephone: 530-902-2993
Study Title: Transfer Student Success Based on Pre-transfer Course Selection
WHY IS THIS STUDY BEING DONE?
You are being asked to participate in a research study. We hope to learn how the types of
coursework completed by Biotechnology transfer students prior to their admission to
NVU is correlated with their success at NVU. We also hope to gain insight into the
manner by which these students select community college coursework.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF I TAKE PART IN THIS STUDY AND HOW MANY
PEOPLE WILL PARTICIPATE?
If you decide to volunteer, you will participate in a focus group with other Biotechnology
transfer students where you will be asked to respond to questions and participate in
discussion related to your academic and advising experiences at the community college
and NVU. The session will be recorded (audio only). The focus group session will last no
longer than 60 minutes. You will be asked to participate in a single focus group session.
Each session will include 4-6 students and 4-6 sessions will be completed.
WHAT RISKS CAN I EXPECT FROM BEING IN THIS STUDY?
There is no risk to participating in this study.
ARE THERE BENEFITS TO TAKING PART IN THIS STUDY?
It is possible that you will not benefit directly by participating in this study.
WILL MY INFORMATION BE KEPT PRIVATE?
The audio recording of the focus group session will be transcribed using participant
numbers to assign comments to each participant. No personally identifying information
will be included in the transcription. Only the principle investigator will have access to
this information. After the study has been completed, the audio recording will be
destroyed.
WILL I BE COMPENSATED FOR BEING IN THIS STUDY?
Lunch will be provided to study participants. No other compensation is being offered.
WHAT ARE THE COSTS OF TAKING PART IN THIS STUDY?
There is no cost to you beyond the time and effort required to complete the procedure(s)
described above.
CAN I STOP BEING IN THIS STUDY?
78
You may refuse to participate in this study. You may change your mind about being in
the study and quit after the study has started. The research investigator may withdraw you
from participating in this research if circumstances arise which warrant doing so even if
you would like to continue.
WHO CAN ANSWER MY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS STUDY?
If you have any questions about this study please contact Theresa Costa who will answer
them at 530-902-2993.
My signature below will indicate that I have decided to participate in this study as a
research subject. I have read and understand the information above. I understand that I
will be given a signed and dated copy of this consent form and the Bill of Rights.
_________________________
Signature of Subject
_____________________________
Print Name
_________________________
Date
_____________________________
Time
_________________________
Signature of Person Obtaining Consent
_____________________________
Print Name of Person Obtaining Consent
_________________________
Date
_____________________________
Time
79
APPENDIX B
Focus Group Questions
80
FOCUS GROUP QUESTIONS
1. What barriers are there, if any, to finishing your degree at NVU within two years
of the time you entered as a transfer student?
2. How did you choose which courses to take at the community college(s) you
attended?
3. Tell me about your experiences receiving help picking classes from academic
counselors?
4. Tell me about your experiences receiving help picking classes from other
students?
5. Tell me about your experiences receiving help picking classes from any
publications, in hard copy or on the Internet?
6. Did you ignore any of the advice you received regarding course selection while at
the community college? If so, why?
7. Did you take the courses you wanted to take at the community college? If not,
why?
8. What challenges have you faced, if any, in adjusting to NVU coursework
(homework, tests, papers, lecture style, etc.)?
9. Given your experience at NVU, how would you change the selection of courses
you took at the community college?
10. To transfer to NVU as a Biotechnology major, students must complete three
quarters of transferrable chemistry, two quarters of transferrable calculus, and one
quarter of transferrable biology with a 2.5 GPA. Do you think that these
requirements are reasonable? Should they be more or less rigorous? Why?
81
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