2023-11-09 14:47:57
As part of its Raise the Bar: Attaining College Excellence and Equity initiative, the U.S. Department of Education is hosting a summit today at Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) in Annadale, Virginia with 200 higher education leaders on making it easier for students to transfer from one college to another, in turn helping them save time and money. The Department is also releasing groundbreaking new data showing which two- and four-year institutions are best promoting transfer students’ success and highlighting the most productive transfer partnerships between community college and bachelors’ degree institutions in the country.
The difficulty students face in transferring between colleges is one of the most significant obstacles to helping many more students earn college degrees. While nearly 40% of students transfer at some point along their postsecondary journeys, they lose more than 40% of their credits on average when they move between schools. This costs students time, money, and too often the credentials they seek to earn.
As part of the response to the Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions, the Biden-Harris Administration emphasized in a White House meeting with college presidents and a report on strategies to increase diversity and opportunity in higher education the importance of supporting community college transfer students. Given that many students of color and students with low incomes start their higher learning at community colleges, improving transfer pipelines from two-year to four-year colleges is a key strategy that states and institutions can consider as they commit to missions of greater diversity.
“If we want to Raise the Bar for educational attainment in this country and create more equitable outcomes in higher education, then we need leaders to dramatically level up their support for transfer students,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “Our current higher education system stacks the deck once morest community college students who aspire to earn four-year degrees—denying acceptance of their credits, forcing them to retake courses, and ultimately making their educational journeys longer and costlier than they need to be. In the wake of a Supreme Court decision that threatens to undermine diversity and equal opportunity in higher education, the Biden-Harris Administration believes that fixing our broken approach to transfer in this country, which disproportionately impacts students of color and other underserved students, has never mattered more.”
The Department also released today groundbreaking new data on transfers that spotlights the top two-year and four-year institutional partnership in each state. Despite the large number of transfer students, there has been little public data on how well particular colleges serve them. Among those top-performing partnerships is NOVA, the host institution for the event, and George Mason University (GMU). Thirteen percent of new federally aided students who enroll at NOVA earn bachelor’s degrees from GMU within eight years, reflecting a high transfer rate between the two institutions and a strong graduation rate following transfer. The Department’s research also found that this partnership is an important factor in the high rate at which Virginia community college students go on to earn bachelor’s degrees, compared to other states. The data also identified other strong partnerships such as Irvine Valley College with California State University-Fullerton (13%), Heartland Community College with Illinois State University (13%), and the Tri-County Technical College with Clemson University (20%).
The summit includes teams of institutional and state representatives from 11 states from across the country: California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. At the convening, participants will make commitments to support effective state transfer policy, institutional transfer policy and practice, transfer student advising and navigation, and data- and technology-enabled transfer solutions.
“At today’s summit, the Biden-Harris Administration will not only uplift successful efforts for promoting transfer student success, but also release new data on transfer outcomes across institutions that we hope will help leaders build a more accessible and inclusive higher education system,” said Assistant Secretary of Postsecondary Education Nasser Paydar.
Participants in the summit will also discuss their initiatives and commitments to improving transfer.
Mildred Garcia, Chancellor of the California State University said, “As the first Latina chancellor of the nation’s largest and most diverse four-year university system – half a million students strong – I thank Secretary Cardona for his visionary leadership in advancing educational excellence and equity. These values are the CSU’s values, and we are committed to strengthening transfer pathways to provide increased educational opportunities for the future diverse leaders who will drive California’s social and economic prosperity.”
“While 80% of community college students intend to transfer, fewer than 20% make it to a four-year institution and complete a bachelor’s degree. It’s imperative that higher education works together to help these students who are disproportionately first generation, low-income, working parents, and students of color—complete the transfer process, graduate, and enter the workforce. I am honored to be part of this summit to learn new approaches that support transfer student success,” said Joe Garcia, Chancellor of the Colorado Community College System.
The transfer summit is part of the Department’s Raise the Bar: Attaining College Excellence and Equity initiative. Raise the Bar seeks to uplift colleges committed to inclusivity, equity, and excellence, rather than arbitrary rankings, high costs, and privilege. Raise the Bar encourages state and institutional leaders to ensure students of all backgrounds can earn a college degree or certificate and go on to a better life.
Building on this year’s summits on data-driven improvement and transfer students, next year the Department will convene leaders to address holistic advising and wraparound services and career-relevant learning pathways in order to help more institutions increase completion rates, close completion gaps, and ensure all students are earning completions of value that lead to economic opportunity.
Table 1: Community colleges with highest transfer-out rate for Title IV students, by state
State
Institution name
Transfer-out rate (8-year)
Number of students starting in 2-year cohort in 2014
Number of 2-year cohort students ever enrolled at a 4-year within 8 years
AL
Marion Military Institute
62%
149
93
AR
NorthWest Arkansas Community College
32%
826
263
THE
Chandler-Gilbert Community College
36%
855
308
CA
Irvine Valley College
53%
386
205
CO
Colorado Northwestern Community College
36%
86
31
CT
Norwalk Community College
32%
452
146
OF
Delaware Technical Community College-Terry
24%
1450
347
FL
Tallahassee Community College
37%
1610
590
GA
South Georgia State College
50%
560
281
HI
Kapiolani Community College
36%
461
168
IA
Ellsworth Community College
46%
229
106
ID
College of Southern Idaho
26%
617
162
IL
William Rainey Harper College
41%
1048
431
IN
Vincennes University
21%
1527
317
KS
Barton County Community College
45%
219
98
KY
Hopkinsville Community College
26%
348
92
THE
Louisiana State University-Eunice
35%
417
148
MA
Massachusetts Bay Community College
39%
451
176
MD
Montgomery College
43%
1856
805
ME
Kennebec Valley Community College
27%
191
52
MI
Muskegon Community College
34%
556
188
MN
Normandale Community College
36%
846
304
MO
St Charles Community College
33%
637
210
MS
Mississippi Delta Community College
43%
478
206
MT
Dawson Community College
52%
65
34
NC
Coastal Carolina Community College
31%
309
95
ND
Dakota College at Bottineau
41%
106
43
NO
Mid-Plains Community College
29%
275
80
NH
NHTI-Concord’s Community College
31%
720
226
NJ
County College of Morris
48%
717
345
NM
New Mexico Military Institute
71%
103
73
NV
Western Nevada College
27%
221
59
NY
Stella and Charles Guttman Community College
55%
173
95
OH
Columbus State Community College
31%
2025
632
OK
Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College
39%
444
173
OR
Clackamas Community College
29%
475
136
PA
Bucks County Community College
44%
700
311
RI
Community College of Rhode Island
25%
2172
544
SC
University of South Carolina-Sumter
61%
127
78
SD
Western Dakota Technical Institute
19%
182
35
TN
Motlow State Community College
32%
569
184
TX
The University of Texas at Brownsville
49%
1293
628
UT
Snow College
43%
602
259
VA
Richard Bland College of the College of William and Mary
47%
245
116
VT
Community College of Vermont
23%
491
115
WA
Bellevue College
42%
375
159
WI
University of Wisconsin Colleges
45%
1740
780
WV
Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College
26%
338
87
WY
Northwest College
31%
179
55
Table 2: Four-year institutions with highest transfers’ bachelor’s completion rate for Title IV students, by state
State
Institution name
Transfers’ bachelor’s completion rate (8-year)
Number of community college students transferring within 4 years to BA-granting institution
Number of degrees granted at BA-granting institution among community college students transferring within 4 years
AL
Auburn University
67%
188
126
AR
University of Arkansas
54%
190
103
THE
University of Arizona
61%
261
158
CA
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
89%
45
40
CO
University of Northern Colorado
60%
102
61
CT
University of Connecticut
74%
107
79
OF
Wilmington University
30%
156
47
FL
University of Miami
80%
56
45
GA
University of Georgia
72%
81
58
HI
University of Hawaii at Manoa
64%
215
137
IA
Mount Mercy University
86%
36
31
ID
University of Idaho
63%
65
41
IL
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
89%
207
184
IN
Purdue University-Main Campus
74%
70
52
KS
Kansas State University
54%
213
114
KY
University of Kentucky
63%
121
76
THE
Louisiana State University and A&M College
63%
158
99
MA
University of Massachusetts-Lowell
62%
244
152
MD
University of Maryland-College Park
76%
331
250
ME
University of Southern Maine
54%
82
44
MI
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
88%
68
60
MN
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
67%
248
167
MO
Missouri University of Science and Technology
74%
62
46
MS
Mississippi University for Women
64%
85
54
NC
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
78%
92
72
ND
North Dakota State University-Main Campus
62%
131
81
NO
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
60%
139
84
NH
University of New Hampshire-Main Campus
58%
76
44
NJ
The College of New Jersey
86%
42
36
NM
University of New Mexico-Main Campus
43%
222
95
NV
University of Nevada-Reno
66%
129
85
NY
Saint John Fisher College
78%
54
42
OH
Ohio State University-Main Campus
60%
337
202
OK
Oklahoma State University-Main Campus
62%
295
184
OR
University of Oregon
65%
137
89
PA
Thomas Jefferson University
67%
55
37
RI
University of Rhode Island
69%
89
61
SC
Clemson University
74%
300
222
TN
Tennessee Technological University
67%
129
86
TX
Texas A & M University-College Station
85%
436
372
UT
University of Utah
55%
168
92
VA
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
87%
135
118
WA
Western Washington University
73%
108
79
WI
University of Wisconsin-Madison
75%
109
82
WV
Fairmont State University
58%
57
33
WY
University of Wyoming
60%
119
71
Table 3: Dyads with highest dyad bachelor’s completion rate for Title IV students, by states
State
Dyad name
Dyad bachelor’s completion rate (8-year)
Number of students starting at 2-year in 2014
Number of students starting at 2-year that ever graduate from the 4-year within 8 years
AL
Southern Union State Community College X Auburn University
7%
710
47
THE
Chandler-Gilbert Community College X Arizona State University Campus Immersion
12%
855
103
AR
NorthWest Arkansas Community College X University of Arkansas
9%
826
71
CA
Irvine Valley College X California State University-Fullerton
13%
386
50
CO
Pikes Peak State College X University of Colorado Colorado Springs
4%
1233
50
CT
Manchester Community College X Central Connecticut State University
5%
681
37
OF
Delaware Technical Community College-Terry X Wilmington University
3%
1450
48
FL
Tallahassee Community College X Florida State University
12%
1610
197
GA
East Georgia State College X Georgia Southern University
12%
686
85
HI
Kapiolani Community College X University of Hawaii at Manoa
16%
461
76
ID
College of Western Idaho X Boise State University
7%
1062
70
IL
Heartland Community College X Illinois State University
13%
433
55
IN
Ivy Tech Community College X Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis
1%
9552
116
IA
Hawkeye Community College X University of Northern Iowa
8%
686
55
KS
Butler Community College X Wichita State University
8%
885
73
KY
Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College X Western Kentucky University
7%
454
31
THE
South Louisiana Community College X University of Louisiana at Lafayette
8%
620
49
ME
Southern Maine Community College X University of Southern Maine
4%
884
34
MD
Wor-Wic Community College X Salisbury University
10%
385
39
MA
Middlesex Community College X University of Massachusetts-Lowell
11%
990
104
MI
Kalamazoo Valley Community College X Western Michigan University
8%
914
77
MN
Rochester Community and Technical College X Winona State University
6%
674
43
MS
Jones County Junior College X University of Southern Mississippi
4%
757
33
MO
Missouri State University-West Plains X Missouri State University-Springfield
11%
290
31
NO
Northeast Community College X Wayne State College
6%
585
33
NV
Truckee Meadows Community College X University of Nevada-Reno
7%
694
47
NJ
Middlesex College X Rutgers University-New Brunswick
9%
1216
114
NM
Central New Mexico Community College X University of New Mexico-Main Campus
4%
2134
92
NY
CUNY Kingsborough Community College X CUNY Brooklyn College
9%
1826
162
NC
Central Piedmont Community College X University of North Carolina at Charlotte
8%
1845
146
OH
Columbus State Community College X Ohio State University-Main Campus
8%
2025
160
OK
Northern Oklahoma College X Oklahoma State University-Main Campus
7%
527
39
OR
Portland Community College X Portland State University
6%
1852
120
PA
Bucks County Community College X Temple University
9%
700
60
RI
Community College of Rhode Island X Rhode Island College
4%
2172
85
SC
Tri-County Technical College X Clemson University
20%
942
187
TN
Northeast State Community College X East Tennessee State University
8%
668
51
TX
Blinn College District X Texas A & M University-College Station
12%
2311
272
UT
Snow College X Utah State University
5%
602
33
VA
Northern Virginia Community College X George Mason University
13%
3766
503
WA
Seattle Central College X University of Washington-Seattle Campus
13%
259
33
WI
Northeast Wisconsin Technical College X University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
5%
879
40
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