Community college presidents are still concerned that a lack of clear pathways for community college students to transfer two years’ worth of credit is a significant barrier to students transferring to four-year colleges to earn a bachelor’s degree.
However, less presidents than in years past hold this view, according to Inside Higher Ed’s fifth annual Survey of Community College Presidents.
Continue reading Survey: ‘Lack of Clear Pathways’ Barrier to Community College Transfer
Students who transfer to a four-year college or university from a community college are more likely to graduate than other transfer students. However, planning out the move is necessary for success.
KCUR 89.3, the NPR station in the Kansas City, KS area, recently ran a piece on tips for making your transfer from a community college as smooth as possible.
The biggest message – planning ahead is the way to go.
Continue reading Planning is Key to Successful Community College Transfer
Numerous students transfer to another college and complete their degree program each year. Wanting to be closer to home, changing your major, not seeing the current school as good fit, and financial issues often factor into a transfer decision.
Before making a final decision, students should consider the following:
Continue reading 7 Considerations to Make When Transferring Schools
Despite stigmas that often surround community colleges, a new report from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation found that graduation rates of community college transfer students meet or exceed those of students who enroll at selective institutions as first-time freshman.
Community college transfer students also graduate at higher rates than students who transfer from other four-year colleges, according to the report.
More than 35,000 community college students transfer to selective colleges and universities each year and 75 percent of them graduate within six years. About 73 percent of students entering selective universities straight from high school graduate in that time frame, along with 61 percent of students who transfer from another four-year institution.
On average, community college transfer students earn their degree within two and a half years.
Read the full report and check out NACAC’s recent report on school counselors and community college options.
Ashley Dobson is NACAC’s communications manager for content and social media. You can reach her at adobson@nacacnet.org.
Transfer students are an important part of the University of Central Florida.
In fact, in recent years, the institution has welcomed more transfer students in its incoming class than first-year freshmen — and in the process has created what some consider a national model of excellence while increasing access for underrepresented students.
“We’ve always been concerned with the success of every student, but as our numbers started to increase with transfer students, we really started to focus heavily on how we could work with our transfer population to make them as successful as possible,” said Jennifer Sumner, a UCF administrator.
Continue reading University’s Commitment to Transfer Students Pays Off
Helping community college students select courses suited to their interests and finding ways to connect classroom lessons with the real world could help more students persist in higher education, according to a new report from the Brookings Institution.
“The key takeaways are that making it easier for students to navigate the college environment and connect their coursework to their lives can improve student outcomes,” noted report author Elizabeth Mann Levesque.
Continue reading Report: Structural, Motivational Barriers Undermine Community College Grad Rates
A new application designed to serve returning adult students, as well as community college students applying to four-year institutions, is now available.
The Common App launched its transfer app this month. More than 650 colleges and universities will accept the new application.
Continue reading Common App for Transfer Students Now Available
Community college students in California now have even more options when planning their path to a four-year degree.
The Board of Governors that oversees the state’s community colleges approved a plan last month that offers guaranteed admission to students who take specific community college courses geared toward their intended four-year major.
Three-quarters of community college presidents report that their institutions are adding new programs or other options to make it easier for students to transfer to four-year universities, according to a new report from Inside Higher Ed and Gallup.
The additions are an attempt to recruit more students and better serve those already enrolled at two-year institutions, survey data from community college presidents shows.
Continue reading Survey: Community Colleges Seek to Increase Transfer Options
As college costs continue to increase, community colleges are seeing a rise in the number of upper-middle class students enrolling to save money on their way to a four-year degree.
“This is about social norms,” Sara Goldrick-Rab, a professor of higher education policy and sociology at Temple University (PA), told The New York Times. “More middle-class parents are saying, I’m not succumbing to the idea that the only acceptable education is an expensive one.”
Continue reading Community Colleges Report Serving More Middle-Class Students