Losing credits during transfer is a big issue that can slow down students' progress. Research shows credit loss happens when community college credits don't transfer or don't count toward a four-year degree. It is hard to measure because there's not always clear data on which credits actually count. This brief looks at 'excess credits'--extra…

Using interviews with transfer personnel at five community colleges and seven public universities, we examine competing institutional logics--or belief systems--for how personnel approach vertical transfer and implement statewide reforms that call for transparency in programs' recommended course sequences. Personnel who relied more on…

Studies of student mobility find that some transfer students experience "transfer shock" when changing institutions. While Canadian studies have identified instances of low academic performance and delayed time to completion, these are observed at single points in time and often capture student outcomes at the endpoint of post-secondary…

Transfer student success is a policy priority in Maryland. While "transfer" is a broad term that includes any students who move across postsecondary institutions, "vertical transfer students," those moving from community colleges to four-year colleges and universities, are most common. Several Maryland policies aim to improve transfer student…

British Columbia (BC) Transfer System (BCTS) member institutions build and share their articulation agreements using the Transfer Credit System (TCS) and the BC Transfer Guide (BCTG), which are both maintained by the BC Council on Admissions and Transfer (BCCAT). As these institutions agree to uphold BCCAT "Principles and Guidelines for…

Postsecondary institutions have a number of decisions to make in designing Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) offerings, including the specific assessment options they make available to students, how assessments of prior learning are administered, what to charge for CPL, how to maintain high academic standards, and so on. States, systems, and private…

As a result of California Assembly Bill 705(AB705, 2017) and California Assembly Bill 1705 (AB1705, 2021), most 1st-year students will enroll directly into transfer level math and/or English courses (Baca, 2021; Lopez, 2022; Melguizo et al., 2022; Sims, 2020). Students once placed into remedial coursework before enrolling in transfer level…

Washington's statewide transfer framework serves as a national model. This is due to the collaboration between community and technical colleges (CTCs) and baccalaureate institutions who led the creation and implementation of state-specific transfer degrees. In practice, Washington's CTCs award these degrees and baccalaureate institutions accept…

This document provides an overview of historic policy reforms that have improved student success and close racial equity gaps in completion at California Community Colleges.

Transfer pathways are commonly associated with cost savings to students within the policy world. However, few have ventured to empirically examine whether traveling transfer pathways result in savings for students. Through this article, we report on analyses of this topic drawing on a custom linkage between Toronto District School Board,…

Studies have explored the relationship between travelling non-linear post-secondary (PSE) pathways and student achievement in multiple jurisdictions. This research aims to overcome some of the major challenges faced by scholars in this area by leveraging a new administrative linkage in Ontario, Canada containing detailed information on students'…

Community college to university transfer (i.e., vertical transfer) is an important potential path to a bachelor's degree. However, community colleges may be particularly challenging for students to navigate. In this brief we argue that multiple transfer policies, combined with the complexity of community colleges, create a set of choices that are…

This study examines the predominant challenges faced by transfer students in higher education and explores strategies for improving institutional transfer practices to better support student mobility and academic success. As transfer pathways become an increasingly common route toward degree completion, students frequently encounter barriers that…

The purpose of this study was to explore constituent perspectives of the California Community Colleges Historically Black Colleges and Universities Transfer Guarantee Program. The researcher queried representatives from participating community colleges and Historically Black Colleges and Universities regarding their perspectives of the program.…

Objective: Vertical community college transfer has become an essential pathway for many students who hope to attain bachelor's degrees. Prior literature indicates that institutional supports, like transfer articulation agreements and transfer advising, have a positive influence on transfer success. Yet, spatial inequality theory indicates that…