Current patterns of student tranfer from and to the community college need to be considered in examining the community college transfer mission. These patterns demonstrate that two sets of students--those who begin their postsecondary education by enrolling at community colleges and those who begin at four-year colleges--take community college courses in their desire to attain the baccalaureate. When these transfer patterns are examined for their effect upon baccalaureate attainment, it can be demonstrated that they help both sets of students save on college costs, and they speed up time-to-degree for four-year students. The effect upon the quality of education attained is less clear. Given the reality of these transfer patterns, the community college transfer mission needs to be redefined as facilitating baccalaureate degree attainment for college students in general, not just for students who begin their undergraduate education in the two-year college.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Adelman, C. (1999). Answers in the tool box: Academic integrity, attendance patterns, and bachelor's degree attainment. Jessup, MD: Education Publications Center, U.S. Department of Education.
2.
Berkner, L.Horn, L. & Clune, M. (2000). Descriptive summary of 1995-96 beginning postsecondary students: Three years later, with an essay on students who started at less-than-4-year institutions. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
3.
Bernstein, A. (1986). The devaluation of transfer: Current explanations and possible causes. In L.S. Zwerling (Ed.), The community college and its critics (pp. 31-40). New Directions for Community Colleges, No. 54. San Francisco: JosseyBass.
4.
Brint, S., & Karabel, J. (1989). The diverted dream: Community colleges and the promise of educational opportunity in America 1900-1985. New York: Oxford University Press.
5.
California Postsecondary Education Commission. (1998). New community college transfer students at California's public universities. Factsheet 98-3. Retrieved November 29, 1999, from the World Wide Web: http://www.cpec.ca.gov/factshts/fs1998/fs98-3.htm.
6.
Clark, B. (1960). The "cooling out" function in higher education. American Journal of Sociology, 65 (6), 569-576.
7.
Clowes, D. A., & Levin, B. H. (1989). Community, technical, and junior colleges: Are they leaving higher education?Journal of Higher Education, 60 (3), 349-355.
8.
Cohen, A. M., & Brawer, F. (1996). The American community college. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
9.
Cohen, A. M., & Ignash, J. (1994). An overview of the total credit curriculum. In A. M. Cohen (Ed.), Relating curriculum and transfer (pp. 13-29). New Directions for Community Colleges, No. 86. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
10.
Cooley, R. J. (2000). The American community college turns 100: A look at its students, programs, and prospects. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.
11.
de los Santos, A. G., & Wright, I. (1989). Community college and university student transfers. Educational Record, 79 (3/4), 82-84.
12.
DesJardins. S. L. (1999). Tracking institutional leavers: An application. AIR Professional File, No. 71.
13.
Girardi, T., & Stein, R. (2000). State dual credit policy and its implications for community colleges: Lessons from Missouri for the 2Is' century. In B. Townsend & S. Twombly (Eds.), Community colleges: Policy in thefuture context. Westport, CT: Ablex Publishing Co.
14.
Hagedorn, L, & Castro, C. R. (1999). Paradoxes: California's experience with reverse transfer students. In B. Townsend (Ed.), Understanding the impact of reverse transfers on the community college (pp. 15-26). New Directions for Community Colleges, No. 106. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
15.
Ignash, J., & Townsend, B. (2000). Transfer and articulation policy issues in the 2 Is' century. In B. Townsend & S. Twombly (Eds.), Community colleges: Policy in the future context. Westport, CT: Ablex Publishing Co.
16.
Kearney, G., Townsend, B.K., & Kearney, T. (1995). Multiple-transfer students in a public urban university: Background characteristics and interinstitutional movements. Research in Higher Education, 36 (3), 323-344.
17.
Keeley, E. J., & House, D. J. (1993). Transfer shock revisited: A longitudinal study of transfer academic performance. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Institutional Research, Chicago, IL.
18.
Kintzer, F. (1983). The multidimensional problem of articulation and transfer: ERIC Digest 28857. Los Angeles, CA: ERIC Clearinghouse for Junior Colleges.
19.
Matthews, R., & Mellow, G. (1996). Transfer and the dilemma of our students. Metropolitan Universities, 7(2), 87-97.
20.
McCromick, A.C., & Carroll, C.D. (1997). (Report No. NCES 97-266). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
21.
National Center for Academic Achievement and Transfer. (1990). Good practices in transfer education. Working Papers, 1 (3). Washington, DC: American Council on Education.
22.
Pascarella, E., Bohr, L., Nora, A., & Terenzini, P. (1995). Cognitive effects of 2 year and 4-year colleges: New evidence. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 17 (1), 83-96.
23.
Pascarella, E., Bohr, L., Nora, A., Ranganathan, S., Desler, M., & Bulakowski, C. (1994). Impacts of 2-year and 4-year colleges on learning orientations: A preliminary study. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 18 (6), 577-589.
24.
Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (1991). How college affects students: Findings and insights from twenty years of research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
25.
Pincus, F.L., & archer, E. (1989). Bridges to opportunity: Are community colleges meeting the transfer needs of minority students?New York: Academy for Educational Development and College Entrance Examination Board.
26.
Phillippe, K. (Ed.). (2000). National profile of community colleges: Trends & statistics, 3rd Ed.Washington, DC: American Association of Community Colleges.
27.
Piland, W. (1995). Community college transfer students who earn bachelor's degrees. Community College Review, 23 (3), 35-44.
28.
Porter, S. R. (1999). Including transfer-out behavior in retention models: Using the NSLC enrollment search data. Paper presented at North East Association of Institutional Research annual conference, Newport, Rhode Island.
29.
Quanty, M., & Dixon, R. (1995). A new paradigm for examining transfer success. Paper presented at annual meeting of American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA.
30.
Reverse Transfer Project, Summer 1999. (November 1999). Moraine Valley Community College, IL: Office of Institutional Research.
31.
Southern Educational Foundation. (1995). Redeeming the American promise: Report of the panel on educational opportunity and postsecondary desegregation. Atlanta, GA: Author.
32.
Striplin, J. C. (2000). An examination of non-liberal arts course transferability in California. Community College Review, 28 (1), 67-78.
33.
Townsend, B. (2000). Institutional attendance patterns of two-year college transfers at an urban public university. College and University, 76 (1), 21-24.
34.
Townsend, B., & Dever, J. (1999). What do we know about reverse transfer students? In B. Townsend (Ed.), Understanding the impact of reverse transfers on the community college (pp. 5-14). New Directions for Community Colleges, No. 106. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
