Community College Transfer Students in Texas: Examining Student Choices, Transfer Policies, and Outcomes. Policy Brief

N

5

Two Year College Students; Community Colleges; College Transfer Students; Transfer Policy; Outcomes of Education; College Choice; Core Curriculum; Academic Persistence

Forty percent of all Texas public college students start at a community college and 75 percent earn at least some community college credits. Yet there is very little evidence about how students make transfer decisions and whether the policies meant to avoid credit loss, like the core curriculum, actually improve transfer success and degree attainment. In this study, the authors examine how community college students select which institutions to transfer to and whether state transfer policies, like the core curriculum, impact student outcomes. Using Education Research Center (ERC) data on community college entrants, the authors examine track student transfer and progress. First, they examine proximal outcomes in the transfer process--investigating how students select their destination university. Second, they examine the relationship between credits accumulated under the core curriculum--a set of courses that, as mandated in state policy, are universally accepted at public colleges statewide, totaling up to 42 credits--and degree attainment among students who transferred from community colleges to public universities. By examining both student transfer behavior and the impact of policies meant to illuminate transfer pathways, this project stands to inform ongoing debates about how to best improve transfer policies in the state.

ERIC

2021

ED615425