Study: CC Transfers Take Longer to Finish BAs
A study by a Vanderbilt University professor has found that only 14 per cent of college students who begin their studies at a community college actually finish their programs and receive a bachelor's degree within six years.
One reason for this low completion rate is the difficulty students experience in transferring community college credits to four-year institutions.
Vanderbilt assistant professor William Doyle found that only about one-half of the students he surveyed were able to transfer all of the credits they earned at a community college to a four-year college or university. The degree completion rate among these students was good, with 82 per cent going on to receive their degrees within six years.
Students who were not able to transfer all of their community college credits had a markedly worse completion rate. Only 42 per cent finished their degree programs within six years, whereas 36 per cent were still taking classes at that point.
It's disturbing to see these research findings come out at a time when a growing number of students are opting to start their degree programs at community colleges. As we've noted ourselves, there are good reasons to go this route. Attending a community college can help students reduce their educational costs, and in some cases a freshman might receive better academic training at a community college than he or she would get at a large university.
We suspect that the transfer agreements presently being worked out between many state universities and community colleges will reduce the problems students encounter in trying to transfer credits. It will be interesting to see what the degree completion rates for transfer students in these state systems look like several years from now. We expect they will be much higher than they are today.
That said, there are at least two other key factors that determine a transfer student's success or failure in finishing a degree: personal motivation and planning. The students in Dr. Doyle's study who were able transfer all of their credits probably didn't achieve that outcome by accident. They probably thought ahead about what courses and credits they needed for their degrees and selected appropriate classes at their community colleges. We would encourage anyone planning to transfer from a community college to a four-year institution to do the same.
The lesson that college applicants should draw from Dr. Doyle's study isn't that it's a bad idea to begin your studies at a community college. For some people, it's a wise choice. However, students who follow this course must be prepared to be more proactive in managing their progress toward their degree. They may not have as much advising support as their peers at four-year colleges do, and they probably have a far narrower choice of appropriate classes. These are not insurmountable problems. Smart students will do what research they can ahead of time to map out what they need to do to position themselves for a successful transfer.
Source: "Few Transfers Get Bachelor's," by Kathy Lynn Gray - the Columbus Dispatch, July 13, 2006
One reason for this low completion rate is the difficulty students experience in transferring community college credits to four-year institutions.
Vanderbilt assistant professor William Doyle found that only about one-half of the students he surveyed were able to transfer all of the credits they earned at a community college to a four-year college or university. The degree completion rate among these students was good, with 82 per cent going on to receive their degrees within six years.
Students who were not able to transfer all of their community college credits had a markedly worse completion rate. Only 42 per cent finished their degree programs within six years, whereas 36 per cent were still taking classes at that point.
It's disturbing to see these research findings come out at a time when a growing number of students are opting to start their degree programs at community colleges. As we've noted ourselves, there are good reasons to go this route. Attending a community college can help students reduce their educational costs, and in some cases a freshman might receive better academic training at a community college than he or she would get at a large university.
We suspect that the transfer agreements presently being worked out between many state universities and community colleges will reduce the problems students encounter in trying to transfer credits. It will be interesting to see what the degree completion rates for transfer students in these state systems look like several years from now. We expect they will be much higher than they are today.
That said, there are at least two other key factors that determine a transfer student's success or failure in finishing a degree: personal motivation and planning. The students in Dr. Doyle's study who were able transfer all of their credits probably didn't achieve that outcome by accident. They probably thought ahead about what courses and credits they needed for their degrees and selected appropriate classes at their community colleges. We would encourage anyone planning to transfer from a community college to a four-year institution to do the same.
The lesson that college applicants should draw from Dr. Doyle's study isn't that it's a bad idea to begin your studies at a community college. For some people, it's a wise choice. However, students who follow this course must be prepared to be more proactive in managing their progress toward their degree. They may not have as much advising support as their peers at four-year colleges do, and they probably have a far narrower choice of appropriate classes. These are not insurmountable problems. Smart students will do what research they can ahead of time to map out what they need to do to position themselves for a successful transfer.
Source: "Few Transfers Get Bachelor's," by Kathy Lynn Gray - the Columbus Dispatch, July 13, 2006
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