National Trends with
Transfer Students
Spring Advisor Day 2010
Illinois State University
Thomas J. Grites, Ph.D.
Assistant to the Provost
Richard Stockton College of New Jersey
(ISU Alum, 1966 and 1967)
• Transfer students constitute the largest single
special population of students on campuses
today. Nearly 60% of all students are transfers,
and nearly 75% of all who graduate each year
have some transfer credit.
(Adelman, 2006)
• Approximately 5 million new entering community
college students plan to transfer to earn a
bachelor’s degree each year.
(Provasnik & Planty, 2008)
• Almost 20% of new entering four-year college
students are transfer students.
(Berkner & Choy, 2008)
• Yet they are often the most neglected…why?
• Most national, state, and local comparative
data are based upon:
 Admission Profile (ACT/SAT)
 Second Year Retention Rates
 Six-Year Graduation Rates
of first-time full-time (freshman)
students…yet
25-30% of first-year
freshmen do not return
to their first (four-year)
institution for the
second year.
(ACT, 2008)
Future conditions for transfer students
and the institutions they attend
• More legislation and regulation
• More distance education and modalities for such
• More degree completion programs off the site of
the degree-granting institution
• More dual admission and dual credit options
• More accountability, assessment
• Less funding
• Effects on the quality of education???
Spring Advisor Day 2010
Illinois State University
Thomas J. Grites, Ph.D.
Assistant to the Provost
Richard Stockton College of New Jersey
(ISU Alum, 1966 and 1967)
“We are still admitting students on the unrestricted
certification system, because they have been at least
barely satisfactory students in some accredited
college. On this plan, thousands of mere parrot
learners ambitious to lead the life of culture or of
academic tradition are encouraged to go on spending
their time and money until the college or graduate
school, out of very shame for its own laxity, cannot
muster the courage to refuse them degrees. And yet
a reasonable study of traits and abilities of these
persons as individuals would show early in their
college career that they have nothing to contribute to
the advancement of knowledge or culture, either in
research or through teaching, and that it is nothing
short of downright injustice to encourage them to go
on to certain and pitiable failure.”
Johnston, J. B. (1931).
Undergraduate migration.
The Journal of Higher
Education, 2(9), 47180.
Comparison of First-Year
Freshman vs. Transfer Students
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Recruitment efforts
Criteria for admission
Orientation program
“First-Year Experience”
$$$
Learning Outcomes (Gen Ed)
Preparing students for transfer
• Is the student ready to be admitted?
• Has the student connected with the new school,
academic department, and major?
• Does the student understand how they will finance the
rest of the education?
• Has the student considered the new routine,
expectations, and other aspects of the new school?
• Is the student using the available academic resources?
As first-year transfer students (from a two-year
or from another four- year institution) onto a new
campus, things are different, including…
• Campus geography
• Vocabulary
• Academic policies and
procedures
• Academic standards
• Faculty expectations
• Peer groups
• Advising structures
• Computer systems
• Course scheduling
• Culture and traditions
(Grites and Rondeau, 2009)
The cumulative effect
of which results in…
the phenomenon known as
“TRANSFER
SHOCK”
which often results in a lower firstterm GPA.
A New Concern –
The Fear Factor
An emerging condition found in first-time community
college enrollees (and possible residual effect at the 4year level), which consists of feelings of…
 Academic inadequacy, especially in writing and math
 Intimidation by their perceptions of the “superknowledgeable” faculty they would encounter
 The very nature of the courses and subject matter in
which they would be challenged
(Cox, 2009)
Other Reasons for Neglect
• Assumptions
• Generalizations
Students
• Overconfidence – they’ve already been college
students…don’t want it; don’t need it; learning
environment will be the same
• “At my other school” syndrome – they tend to act on
the rules, policies, procedures, and other conditions
that were in place there
• Underconfidence – sense of being out of place;
everyone already knows what to do (fear factor?)
• Less engaged – they tend to feel ignored and don’t
have a sense of belonging
Institutions
• Overestimation – they’ve
already been to college so
they need less attention
• Underestimation – they did
not begin as freshmen, so
certain academic (or other)
options are unavailable to
them (e.g., Honors)
• Overgeneralization – “one
size fits all” and all transfers
have similar expectations,
needs, skill levels, etc.
“…a lack of assessment data can
sometimes lead to policies and
practices based on intuition,
prejudice, preconceived notions, or
personal proclivities – none of them
desirable bases for making
decisions” (p. 20)
(Upcraft and Schuh,2002)
Other factors that affect transfer students
and campus efforts- Legislation
Federal:
State:
• Accreditation Status
• Unit Record System
• Special Funding
• Guaranteed Admission
• Guaranteed Credit/Time
to Degree
• Common Numbering
• Common Curriculum
Articulation: acceptability,
equivalency, applicability
• Course-to-Course
• Program-toProgram
Issues
• How many students used
it?
• How often was it
reviewed/updated?
• Is the curriculum (General
Education and major
components) consistent
for all students in that
degree program?
• Is the agreement
reciprocal?
• Is it working?
Review of campus
transfer student
programs
• Orientation – timing, purpose,
content, expected results
• Ongoing contact and
assistance; available
resources; residential
accommodations
• “Transfer Student
Experience” extended into
academic year
Recommendations
• Know your transfer students – collect data and
be sure to distinguish among the diversity they
represent.
• Review your policies, procedures, practices, and
programs to best enable transfer students to
succeed in their new environment.
• Develop a “culture of transfer” (Adelman, 2008)
• Develop a systematic transitional program, e.g.,
a Transfer Student Seminar course or workshop
format.
Seminar examples
• Illinois State – 1-credit; voluntary; on-line
• Rutgers University – 1-credit; required for all new
transfers
• Baruch College (CUNY) – 4-week non-credit
seminar; optional
• Richard Stockton – regular courses restricted to new
transfers; optional
• Pima CC – 1-credit course for students transferring
to the University of Arizona; optional
• University of Southern Mississippi – 2-credit
transition course; optional
• UMBC – 1-credit, P/F Transfer Success Seminar, linked
to a major course (pilot Fall 2008)
Seminar anecdotes (4-year students)
• “I felt intimidated in my other classes.”
• “I thought this was just going to be another class…I
learned much more than I expected.”
• “Our group stopped being just classmates and
started to become friends.”
• “I thought I was just going to sit in class, learn, and
leave just as I did at my community college. I
never thought I would actually become involved in
school.”
• “I would never have attended anything if it had not
been for this class.”
Seminar Anecdotes (2-year
students)
• “This class will help you throughout your
transition to the University. It is one of the best
classes you will have in your college education.”
• “Taking this course helped me a lot.
Transferring to the University can be
overwhelming. I believe that with the right
information and guidance, any transition can be
made easier.”
…and for their academic advisors
“Over and above all that one can learn from a study of student
marks and achievement records stands a knowledge of the
student’s personal traits, his interests, his special abilities, and
his handicaps. To take these things into account in advising,
the student is the duty of the secondary teacher and the faculty
of the college which the student enters first. Doubtless one
student should be definitely advised against migration, while
another with the same record on the books should be strongly
encouraged to move for the sake of facilities, surroundings,
and opportunities which are better for him. The study of these
factors will require time, insight, and effort, but the effort will be
well repaid if the study is motivated by an interest in the
individual student.”
(Johnston, 1931, p. 480)
Selected References
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ACT. 2008 Retention/Completion Summary Tables.
Adelman, C. (2006). The Toolbox Revisited: Paths to Degree Completion
From High School Through College. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Education.
Adelman, C. (2008). Turning Nomads into Transfers. Retrieved Dec. 12, 2009
from http://www.aacrao.org/transfer/Cliff_Adelman.pdf
Berkner, L. & Choy, S. (2008). Descriptive Summary of 2003-04 Beginning
Postsecondary Students: Three Years Later (NCES 2008-174). Washington,
DC: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education
Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.
Cox, R.D. (2009). The College Fear Factor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press
Grites, T. J. & Rondeau, S. (2009). Transfer Student Companion. New York:
Houghton-Mifflin.
Johnston, J. B. (1931). Undergraduate Migration. The Journal of Higher
Education, 2(9), 471-480.
Kerr, T. J., King, M. C. & Grites, T. J. (2004). Advising Transfer Students:
Issues and Strategies. Monograph Series, Number 12. Manhattan, KS:
National Academic Advising Association.
Noel-Levitz (2009), selected slides used with permission.
Provasnik, S. & Planty, M. (2008). Community Colleges: Special Supplement
to the Condition of Education 2008 (NCES 2008-033). Washington, DC:
National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences,
U.S. Department of Education.
Upcraft, M.L. and Schuh, J.H. (2002) Assessment vs. Research: Why Should
We Care About the Difference. About Campus, Vol.7, No.1, 16-20.
THANK YOU!