Virginia Community Colleges Transfers to Old Dominion University:
Academic Performance, Retention, and Graduation1[1]
Zhao Yang, Ph.D
Martha Smith Sharpe, Ed.D
University Planning and Institutional Research
Old Dominion University
March 2002
Executive Summary
The current study focuses on students transferring from Virginia Community
College (VCCS) constituent institutions to Old Dominion University. This report
reveals academic performance, retention, and graduation statistics for all VCCS
transfers and transfers by VCCS institution. Analyses are prepared by campus
of enrollment (main campus versus TELETECHNET), academic college of
enrollment, year of entry to Old Dominion, discipline and degree at the VCCS
institution, and by VCCS degree type (transfer degree, technical/vocational
degree, or no VCCS degree). In general, students transferring to Old Dominion
with a transfer degree have higher retention and graduation rates, followed by
those with no VCCS degree. Those transferring with a technical/vocational
degree have the lowest retention and graduation rates. This report document
(without linked tables) can be obtained at the following links:
VCCS Transfers to Old Dominion University - MS Word version
VCCS Transfers to Old Dominion University - PDF version - Adobe Acrobat
May 24, 2002 Presentation to VCCS Presidents
Links to MS Word and PDF versions of detailed tables referenced can be found below.
Prior Research on Transfer Student Performance
For more than 10 years, information regarding transfer performance has been
reported to the Virginia Community College System’s (VCCS’s) constituent
institutions as part of the State Council of Higher Education’s (SCHEV’s)
mandated assessment reporting (known as Guideline 8). However, the particular
definitions and design of the Guideline 8 reporting limited the population to only
degree-seeking transfers during the fall semester only. Because of these
1[1] This study was conducted in cooperation with the Virginia Community
College System’s Office of Academic Services and Research. Garry Taylor of
the VCCS Staff provided data on Old Dominion University students earning
associates degrees.
limitations, a different, more comprehensive study of VCCS transfers to Old
Dominion University needed to be undertaken.
Purpose of the Present Study
Throughout its history as a four-year institution, Old Dominion University has
served many students transferring from the VCCS. In 1994, the University began
its TELETECHNET distance-learning program that transmits real-time classes at
the junior and senior levels to VCCS campuses throughout the Commonwealth.
As a result, there was an increase in the number of transfer students from these
colleges, making the need to track student success even more important.
In addition to including all students regardless of their degree/non-degree status
at the time of transfer, the current study tracked whether or not transfer students
had an associate’s degree by the discipline and type of degree. This aspect of
the study was greatly facilitated by the assistance of staff in the Office of
Academic Services and Research at the central VCCS Office who provided
specific degree information to Old Dominion University. This information proved
invaluable in understanding predictors of success at Old Dominion.
This report is divided into five sections: Purpose of the Present Study,
Methodology, Results, and Conclusions and Recommendations.
The present study seeks to quantify and describe transfer activity, academic
performance, and bachelor’s degree completion according to the following
groupings listed below. These groupings are defined in Appendix A.
1) Virginia Community College institution and across all institutions
2) Type of VCCS Degree (AA/AS/AAS)
3) Main Campus versus TELETECHNET Students
4) Academic College Enrolled at Old Dominion
5) By First Year of Enrollment at Old Dominion
6) Discipline of VCCS Associate’s Degree
The key measures of student performance are defined in Appendix A. These
include:
1) Average number of hours transferred from primary VCCS institution
2) Average number of hours transferred overall
3) Number and percentage of transfers earning an Old Dominion
bachelor’s degree
4) Average years to taken to graduate with bachelor’s degree
5) Average first semester grade point average at Old Dominion
6) Average rate of academic difficulty (<2.00 GPA) at Old Dominion first
semester
7) Average first semester hours earned
8) Average cumulative GPA in final semester of attendance at Old
Dominion
9) Retention Rate After One Year
10) Average Total Old Dominion Hours Earned
11) Average Total Number of Semesters Registered
Methodology
The primary source of data for this study was the transcript information stored in
the academic history portion of the University’s Banner student information
system. Transfer course data, including college of transfer and hours
transferred, were used to identify the population. Student enrollment at the
University, academic performance, and degree completion were also tracked
using these records. Students were included in the cohort whether they entered
the University in degree or non-degree status.
The transfer cohort was selected according to the following criteria:
(1) The student enrolled at Old Dominion University for the first time between
1990-91 and 2000-01, academic years inclusive, and,
(2) The student either held an AA/AS/AAS degree from one of 23 VCCS
institutions or had the most credit hours transferred to Old Dominion from one
of VCCS institutions (referred to as the “Main VCCS institution”).
Students with greater than 200 transfer credit hours were excluded because of
the potential for data input problems; this represented less than one percent of
the total population. Also, students who started at ODU and later took courses
at a VCCS institution were eliminated from the analysis.
VCCS degree completion was obtained from the records of the VCCS by tracking
all Old Dominion students who had received an associate’s degree at one of the
system institutions.
Definitions for each of the measures of student performance can be found in
Appendix A.
A total of 14,269 students transferred to Old Dominion University meeting the
above criteria between 1990-91 and 2000-01.
Results
VCCS System Wide-Results
A series of tables were constructed summarizing results at the system-wide level
according to the key measure of student performance (See definitions in
Appendix A). Links to detailed tables can be found at Overall Performance: All
VCCS Institutions Combined.
Highlights of these tables follow in this section.
Transfer History
Table 1 displays the total 14,269 students transferring to Old Dominion from
VCCS institutions by the type of VCCS degree they held. Forty-nine percent
(49%) of the transferring students did so without completing an associate’s
degree.
Table 1
All VCCS Transfers by VCCS Degree: Average Hours Transferred to Old
Dominion
1990-91 to 2000-01
Table 1:
No. of
% of Transfers
Avg. Transfer
Avg. Transfer
Transfer
Transfers
Hrs Main VCCS
Hrs All
History
Inst.
Attended
AA/AS Degree
4,694
33
64.0
76.0
AAS Degree
2,627
18
72.0
87.4
No Degree
6,948
49
36.1
42.1
All Transfer
14,269
100
51.9
61.6
For obvious reasons, students entering without a degree transfer substantially
fewer credit hours from their main and all prior colleges. Interestingly, AAS
recipients transfer more hours on the average than transfer degree recipients
(AA/AS). Also, overall students have 10 more transfer hours total than they do
from their primary institution. This finding illustrates that many transfers to Old
Dominion actually attend two or more institutions prior to entering the University.
First-Year Academic Performance
Table 2
All VCCS Transfers by VCCS Degree: Average 1st Semester GPA, Academic
Difficulty, Hours Earned, Retention: 1990-91 to 2000-01
Table 2: 1st
Year
Academic
Performance
AA/AS
Degree
AAS Degree
No Degree
All Transfer
1st Semester
Academic
Difficulty Rate
1st Semester
Average Hrs
Earned
Retention
Rate After
One Year
4,694
1st
Semester
Average
GPA
2.61
21
8.2
81
2,627
6,948
14,269
2.68
2.32
2.48
21
31
26
6.0
9.0
8.2
71
77
71
No. of
Transfers
Transfer students with no VCCS degree have a lower first-semester GPA and a
higher academic difficulty rate than those coming in with a VCCS degree.
Transfer degree (AA/AS) recipients are retained at the highest rate, followed by
those with no-degree, then those with the AAS degree. The retention rate for the
“no degree” transfers is surprising given the higher academic difficulty rate; AAS
degree students performed better with fewer hours earned, but had a lower
retention rate.
Old Dominion Degree Completion
Table 3
All VCCS Transfers by VCCS Degree: Number and Percentage Earning
Bachelor’s Degrees: 1990-91 to 2000-01
Table 3: ODU
Eligible
No. of ODU
Percent
Average Years
Degree
Transfers
Degrees
Earning ODU
to Graduate
Completion
Degree
AA/AS Degree
3,415
2,297
67
2.9
AAS Degree
1,927
908
47
3.1
No Degree
4,861
2,680
55
3.7
All Transfer
10,203
5,885
57
3.3
In Table 3, above, students were considered eligible to graduate if they had
attended sufficient time to graduate based on the number of hours transferred
into ODU. Overall, 57 percent of the eligible VCCS transfer students (n=10,203)
earned a bachelor’s degree at Old Dominion University. Transfer degree
students earned a degree at the highest rate (67%), distantly followed by those
with no VCCS degree (55%), and the AAS transfers at 47%. Not surprisingly, the
transfer degree students completed in fewer years than those with no degree.
With an average of almost three years to complete a degree, even with no
required general education, these transfer students are either not attending fulltime at the University or need to take additional courses to complete the degree
because of such factors as a change in major after transfer.
Overall Academic Performance
Table 4
All VCCS Transfers by VCCS Degree: Average Cumulative GPA, Average
Total Hours Earned: 1990-91 to 2000-01
Table 4: Overall
No. of
Average
Average Total
Avg Total
Academic
Transfers
Cumulative
Earned Hours
Semesters
Performance
GPA
Enrolled
AA/AS Degree
4,694
2.78
44.5
5.3
AAS Degree
2,627
2.70
34.7
5.0
No Degree
6,948
2.49
63.0
6.6
All Transfer
14,269
2.63
51.4
5.9
In general, those students who transferred without a VCCS degree perform at a
lower level academically and have to attend the University longer and to earn
more hours.
Main Campus versus TELETECHNET Transfer Students
Table 5
Main Campus vs. TELETECHNET: Transfer and Outcomes Measures: 199091 to 2000-01
Transfer
1st Semester
Avg.
%
Statistics by
Academic
Transfer Earning
ODU Campus
Difficulty
Hrs All
ODU
Retention
Average
Rate
Attended Degree Cumulative
Rate After
One Year
GPA
No. of
Transfers
Main Campus
10,726
79
27
54.4
60
2.60
TELETECHNET
3,543
71
20
83.5
47
2.69
All Transfers
14,269
77
26
61.6
57
2.63
Overall, VCCS transfers who were associated with a TELETECHNET (TTN)
campus are less likely to experience academic difficulty and less likely to be
retained than main campus students.
Associate’s Degree Area and Student Outcomes Measures
Table 6
Associate’s Degree Discipline (Selected): Transfer and Outcomes
Measures: 1990-91 to 2000-01
Transfer Statistics
No. of
Retention 1st Semester
Avg.
by VCCS Degree Transfers Rate After
Academic
Transfer
Area and Type
One Year
Difficulty
Hrs All
Rate
Attended
BUS MGMT AA/AS
1,125
83
22
73.0
%
Earning
ODU
Degree
67
Avg
Cumulative
GPA
2.70
433
455
85
89
19
21
67.6
90.8
69
83
2.88
2.97
699
1,799
411
79
78
66
21
20
26
76.7
75.8
81.1
66
61
35
2.79
2.75
2.48
ALL AAS
278
888
913
4,694
2,627
65
73
72
81
71
34
24
12
21
21
76.5
87.8
95.7
76.0
87.4
38
46
53
67
47
2.27
2.58
3.07
2.78
2.79
ALL ASSOCIATES
DEGREE HOLDERS
7,321
77
21
80.0
59
2.75
NO ASSOCIATES
DEGREE
6,948
77
31
42.1
55
2.49
EDUCATION AA/AS
ENGINEERING AA/AS
INTERDISC STDY
AA/AS
LIB ARTS AA/AS
BUS MGMT AAS
CRIM JUST&PROT
AAS
ENGR TECH AAS
HLTH PROF AAS
ALL AA/AS
AA/AS Degree
AAS Degree
No Degree
All Transfer
87
85
75
78
88
92
73
80
78
66
77
76
78
78
78
78
81
74
77
78
81
69
81
78
78
68
77
75
82
70
79
78
82
70
79
78
81
60
78
75
2000-01
1999-00
1998-99
1997-98
1996-97
1994-95
1993-94
1992-93
1991-92
1990-91
Table 7
Retention by Year of Entry: 1990-01 to 2000-01
Retention
Rates by VCCS
Degree Type
1995-96
Retention Rates by Year of Entry to Old Dominion
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Students entering with a transfer degree (AA/AS) are consistently more likely to
be retained during the subsequent year after entry than are those with AAS
degrees. Retention rates for AAS students have declined over the period of the
study; however, there has been a gradual increase in the numbers of AAS
students, largely due to the advent of TELETECHNET; in 1990 there were 83
AAS transfers – by 1996 there were 359. Those transfer students with no degree
are retained at rates only slightly lower than those with the transfer degree.
Graduation Rates by Year of Entry to Old Dominion
Table 8
Graduation by Year of Entry: 1990-91 to 2000-01
Graduation
Rates by VCCS
1990 1991 1992
1993 1994 1995
Degree Type
-91
-92
-93
-94
-95
-96
1996
-97
1997
-98
1998
-99
1999
-00
2000
-01
AA/AS Degree
AAS Degree
No Degree
All Transfer
Total Eligible
79
71
53
60
966
72
65
55
61
1,015
65
51
54
57
1,024
63
55
55
57
1,032
63
48
48
52
1,428
64
45
47
52
1,409
61
40
55
53
1,461
59
37
71
56
1,127
82
43
82
71
626
100
100
100
100
114
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Consistent with retention rates, graduation rates are highest for transfer (AA/AS)
degree holders, followed by those with no degree, then those with the AAS
degree. A decline in the graduation rate in the years between 1990-91 and
1996-97 may be associated with the need to extend the graduation criteria
beyond six years for the transfer population which may, arguably, be more likely
to be part-time and hence, have a longer expectation for graduation.
Populations eligible for graduation from 1997-98 on are greatly curtailed because
many students have not had the opportunity to be enrolled a sufficient time to
graduate. Hence, graduation rates of the remaining eligible students are likely to
be inflated for these most recent years.
Results by VCCS Institution
Transfer Performance results for each of the VCCS constituent institutions were
tabulated and displayed in the same format as Tables 1-4, above.
Specific data for each VCCS Institution can be accessed from the table below.
Institution / HTML Version
All VCCS Transfer Students
Blue Ridge Community College
Central Virginia Community College
MS Word Version
All VCCS.doc
Blue Ridge.doc
Central Virginia.doc
Dabney Lancaster Community College
Dabney Lancaster.doc
Danville Community College
Eastern Shore Community College
Germanna Community College
J. Sargeant Reynolds Community
College
John Tyler Community College
Lord Fairfax Community College
Mountain Empire Community College
Danville.doc
Eastern Shore.doc
Germanna.doc
JS Reynolds.doc
New River Community College
Northern Virginia Community College
New River.doc
Northern Virginia.doc
Patrick Henry Community College
Paul D. Camp Community College
Patrick Henry.doc
PD Camp.doc
John Tyler.doc
Lord Fairfax.doc
Mountain Empire.doc
PDF Version
All VCCS.pdf
Blue Ridge.pdf
Central
Virginia.pdf
Dabney
Lancaster.pdf
Danville.pdf
Eastern Shore.pdf
Germanna.pdf
JS Reynolds.pdf
John Tyler.pdf
Lord Fairfax.pdf
Mountain
Empire.pdf
New River.pdf
Northern
Virginia.pdf
Patrick Henry.pdf
PD Camp.pdf
Piedmont Virginia Community College
Piedmont Virginia.doc
Rappahannock Community College
Rappahannock.doc
Southside Virginia Community College
Southside Virginia.doc
Southwest Virginia Community College
Southwest Virginia.doc
Thomas Nelson Community College
Thomas Nelson.doc
Tidewater Community College
Virginia Highlands Community College
Tidewater.doc
Virginia Highlands.doc
Virginia Western Community College
Virginia Western.doc
Wytheville Community College
Wytheville.doc
Piedmont
Virginia.pdf
Rappahannock.p
df
Southside
Virginia.pdf
Southwest
Virginia.pdf
Thomas
Nelson.pdf
Tidewater.pdf
Virginia
Highlands.pdf
Virginia
Western.pdf
Wytheville.pdf
Conclusions and Recommendations
The results both at the VCCS system level and the individual college level
provide a wealth of information for VCCS and Old Dominion to measure student
success upon transfer. Given the ability to track student success using a variety
of outcomes measures, analysts have the ability to challenge some of the
assumptions about community college transfers (e.g., as having attended only
one college), while confirming other assumptions (students with transfer degree
have a higher graduation rate). Clearly this study should provide the foundation
for future discussions among the community colleges and four year institutions.
Efforts will be made to widely disseminate these study results and to present
them at various professional meetings to facilitate this discussion. Annual
updates will be made to this study to bring in more recent classes of transfer
students.
Appendix A
Groupings For Analysis
Overall Analysis – includes all transfers from all VCCS institutions entering Old
Dominion between fall 1990 and summer 2001.
Analysis by VCCS Institution – students transferring to Old Dominion were
identified by the VCCS institutions from which they transferred the greatest
number of hours. In the VCCS institution reporting sequences, transfers from the
branch campus of individual VCCS colleges were aggregated to a total number,
e.g., the Tidewater Community College (TCC) sequence includes all students
transferring from TCC-Norfolk, TCC-Portsmouth, TCC-Virginia Beach, and TCCChesapeake
Type of VCCS Degree – AA and AS degrees are considered “transfer degrees”
which are designed to substitute provide the general education portion of a
University degree. AAS degrees are more technical or vocational in nature;
students transferring these degrees into the University must meet the lower level
general education requirements to be eligible to earn an Old Dominion degree.
Discipline of the Associate’s Degree – the academic area of study in which the
VCCS graduate earned a degree.
Campus of Attendance – this grouping identifies students according to the Old
Dominion campus they most recently attended. Prior to the advent of
TELETECHNET (TTN), most transfer students had to come to main campus in
Norfolk to attend Old Dominion University. Beginning on a large scale in 1994,
TTN students began enrolling. Because some students who initially came to
main campus in the early 1990’s subsequently became TTN students; these
students are identified as TTN students, based on their most recent campus of
attendance.
Academic College Enrolled at Old Dominion – upon transfer to Old Dominion,
most students identify a major in a particular academic college. For this report,
the academic college in which they were most recent enrolled is used. The
Colleges are abbreviated as follows:
AL =
BU =
ED =
EN =
SC =
HS =
00 =
Arts & Letters
Business and Public Administration
Education
Engineering and Technology
Sciences
Health Sciences
No College Declared
First Year Enrolled at Old Dominion – identified as the first year that a student
was enrolled in an Old Dominion course. Academic year is defined in terms of
the first year of the academic year and includes fall, spring, and summer
semesters. For example, academic year 1990 includes fall 1990, spring 1991
and summer 1991 semesters.
Definitions of Key Measures of Student Performance
Transfer History Measures (Table 1)
Number of Transfers – number of students who were initially enrolled at a
Virginia community college and subsequently enrolled at Old Dominion
University. This study covers students who first enrolled at Old Dominion in Fall
1990 through Summer 2001.
Percent of Transfers by VCCS Degree Type – identifies percentage of
students according to whether they have earned an AA or AS degree, an AAS
degree, or no degree at a VCCS institution.
Average number of hours transferred from primary VCCS institution –
number of hours transferred to Old Dominion from the institution from which the
largest numbers of transfer hours were received.
Average number of hours transferred overall (at all institutions attended)–
many students bring in transfer work from more than one institution; this figure
includes all hours transferred regardless of source.
First-Year Academic Performance (Table 2)
Average first semester grade point average at Old Dominion – term grade
point average (GPA) for the first semester of enrollment at Old Dominion.
Average rate of academic difficulty at Old Dominion first semester –
academic difficulty is defined as earning less than a 2.00 grade point average.
This rate was calculated based on transfer students’ first semester performance
at Old Dominion.
Average first semester hours earned – average hours earned by transfers
during their first semester at Old Dominion.
Retention rate after one year -- defined as registered in any semester of the
year (fall, spring or summer) following the first year of enrollment at Old
Dominion, or earning an Old Dominion degree in the next year following the year
of first enrollment.
Old Dominion Degree Completion (Table 3)
Eligible transfers – transfer students who have attended the university a
number of semesters to have had sufficient time to complete a degree. This
figure uses the number of hours students transferred to Old Dominion as a basis
for the calculation of graduation rate. In general, it was assumed that the
expected time to graduation would be six years from initial college entry,
accounting for attendance at both the community college and Old Dominion.
(See definition below)
Number and percentage of transfers earning an Old Dominion bachelor’s
degree – of the total VCCS transfer population, the number earning a bachelor's
degree at Old Dominion adjusted for number of hours transferred into Old
Dominion. The percentage earning a degree is calculated relative to all eligible
transfers. Eligibility to graduate considered both the number of hours a student
transferred to Old Dominion and the length of time between their first attendance
at Old Dominion University. Eligibility calculations assumed that a student
entering the University with no hours should take six years to graduate; the
length of time students had to be eligible to graduate was shorter when they had
earned more hours. For example, if a student transferred in 88 hours (junior
standing), he would have three years to graduate; students at a sophomore level
up to 56 hours would have four years to graduate; and students entering at the
freshman level would have five years.
Average years to taken to graduate with bachelor’s degree -- calculated for
all students obtaining a UG degree from Old Dominion. The definition is
consistent with SCHEV Reports on Institutional Effectiveness (2001), which was
used for first-time, full-time freshmen. Summer graduates were counted as
graduating in the preceding spring semester. Transfers entering in the summer
semester were counted as fall entering students. For each student, the first
semester of attending Old Dominion (e.g., spring 1998) was subtracted from
graduating semester (e.g., fall 1999), and one semester was considered as onehalf of a year. In this example, the student took two years to graduate. Another
example: a student graduates in summer 2000 and first enrolled in spring 1996.
The elapsed time for this student is 3.5 years.
Overall Academic Performance (Table 4)
Average cumulative GPA in final semester of attendance at Old Dominion - cumulative GPA at the final semester of attendance at Old Dominion University.
Calculated for all transfer students, regardless of whether they graduated or not.
Average Total Old Dominion Hours Earned – total number of hours earned at
Old Dominion University .
Average Total Number of Semesters Registered -- the sum of all semesters
the student registered, including summer session and excluding noncredit
sessions.