This study shows how community colleges can track almost all of their own students who transfer into both public and private colleges and across state lines using the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) database. It utilizes data from the student information systems of Broome Community College, New York; Cayuga Community College, New York; the State University of New York central database; and the NSC database. Data analysis indicates that using the NSC data more than doubled the number of community college transfer students who could be tracked. By using these data, researchers were able to show that current research has underestimated the transfer rate by as much as 25 percent. Results also find that: community college students are probably less likely to cross state borders when they transfer than are students at four-year colleges; transfer rates to private and out-of-state colleges are more likely when those colleges are close to home; transfer rates from community college transfer programs are significantly higher than transfer rates from non-transfer programs; more students transfer without the associate degree than with the degree, although a greater percentage of graduates transfer than non-graduates; and the location of transfer can be affected by local economic conditions. (Contains 29 references.) (SM)