Four Year Colleges Respond to Two-Four Transfers
A new reality of college education is emerging that is changing assumptions about the best way to earn a bachelor's degree. More and more students plan to earn their degree by combining two years of education at a community college with another two years at a four-year school, also known as a two-four transfer. Community college attendance has been increasing steadily as have the number of students transferring from a community college to a four-year school.
Educators feel this trend will continue as college costs continue to rise and as many school make it easier to transfer from a two-year to a four-year school, thus giving students more security in pursuing this type of education plan. The stigma of attending a community college has also been decreasing, making these schools a more attractive option to start one's education.
Positive and Negative Reactions
There have been both positive and negative reactions from four-year schools to the increase in the numbers of students who want to transfer after completing two years at a community college. Some schools seem to be bracing themselves against the increase while other schools see the change as an opportunity to gain students, increase diversity and support their school's educational principles and values.
In general, state schools have been more accommodating to two-four transfer students. This may be largely due to guidance by state governments and new state-wide education goals. Private schools have had mixed reactions, with most higher-tiered schools cutting back on transfer students while others are targeting these students for admission. The trends in various areas that affect transfer students are discussed below.
Recruitment
Community colleges often sponsor transfer fairs for students who are planning to transfer to a four-year school. These are usually well-attended by both public universities and private schools as they provide an efficient way to disseminate information to potential transfer students. Transfer fairs provide a great opportunity for students to gather information from many schools and to ask questions directly of school representatives who may even be able to review transcripts and advise students on credit transfers.
Transfer Student Acceptance Rates
Acceptance rates for transfer students in general are lower than for freshmen students, most dramatically at Ivy League and other higher tier schools. For instance, the transfer acceptance rate at Stanford University in the Fall of 2009 was under 2 percent and at MIT was 6 percent. At the other extreme, some state universities such as those in California, give priority to students from in-state community colleges and had an over 80 percent admissions rate in the fall of 2008 for these students and an overall transfer student admission rate of almost 43 percent.
Transfer student acceptance rates at public universities are on the rise, especially in states which have a focused effort on increasing the numbers of bachelor's degrees earned in their state, such as Texas and California. Some individual private schools such as Bucknell University have also been increasing their transfer student acceptance rates as a way to admit high-quality students with a proven college history. Because of an unrelated trend that sees more students going abroad to study for a year, some schools such as Johns Hopkins are accepting more transfer students as a way to fill these vacancies.
The trend at most private schools has been in the opposite direction. Transfer student acceptance rates have gone down in recent years as the number of applicants has increased and retention rates have improved. Unfortunately, there is a disincentive for schools to accept more transfer students since they are not typically counted in graduation statistics.
Fast Facts
- There are 1,195 community colleges in the United States, of which 987 are public.
- Transfer students make up about 20 percent of first-time enrollees in four-year colleges.
- Two-four transfer students participate significantly less in study-abroad programs, internships and research projects with faculty.
- At the University of California at Davis, the transfer student acceptance rate increased by 15.9 percent in just one year.
- Harvard and Princeton Universities have not been accepting any transfer students.
Credit Transfers
As discussed in the BrainTrack article "College Articulation Agreements: How They Help Transfer Students", many public colleges in recent years have created agreements that stipulate what courses will be transferred between a community college and a public university. These agreements are most commonly found between public colleges within the same state but some do exist with private schools and nearby out-of-state schools. Where these agreements exist, students are able to transfer more easily and with an up-front understanding of what courses they will receive credit for.
The opposite is found at many private schools. Many of these schools have made little effort to encourage transfer students by making the credit transfer process transparent. It is common for a transfer student to enroll in a private school before they know exactly what credits will be transferred, potentially resulting in repeated coursework and a more expensive education that expected.
Transfer Student Acclimation
Many schools help transfer students transition by providing a transfer student orientation session. This may be in addition to freshmen orientation but cover topics and issues that are relevant only to transfer students.
As transfer student populations increase, many schools are opening transfer student service centers which include physical locations that provide a place for students to congregate and study. They often include a lounge, study areas, computers, kitchens and sometimes, transfer student advisors to help students with any issues that arise. These centers often provide services such as mentoring, website resources, information sessions and social events.
Another trend is the creation of social student organizations for transfer students that aim to help these students meet others in the same situation and provide community support and social opportunities to help students adjust to their new environment.
Academic support
Some colleges are putting extra effort into ensuring transfer students get tutoring services when needed to make sure they are successful in transitioning to a more rigorous academic program. These support services may take the form of peer-tutoring for specific academic subjects but also may include study skills workshops and tutoring.
Housing
The availability of on-campus housing for transfer students is, in general, less favorable than for entering freshmen and existing students. But, there is an evolving recognition among educators that on-campus housing is an important contributing factor in a transfer student's success and happiness. Some schools, such as UC San Diego and UC Riverside have set aside on-campus housing for transfer students. UC San Diego recently opened a new residential village designed to house 1000 transfer students.
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