Transfer Students: Examining Attitudes and Motivations to Help Sustain Their Success
Students in Transition Conference 10‐20‐13
Transfer Students: Examining Attitudes and
Motivations to Help Sustain Their Success
Jo Hillman
Senior Director Retention Solutions
All material in this presentation, including text and images, is the property of Noel-Levitz, LLC. Permission is required to reproduce information.
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Transfer Students: Examining Attitudes and Motivations to Help Sustain Their Success
Students in Transition Conference 10‐20‐13
Focus of our time together
1
Why focus on transfer students?
2
An overview of the college experience as
revealed in the research report
3
Implications for campus action and best practice
4
Questions and discussion
One-third of all students change institutions
Of those who transfer:
•
37 percent transfer in their second year
•
22 percent transfer as late as their fourth
or fifth years
•
25 percent transfer more than once
•
27 percent transfer across state lines
•
43 percent transfer into a public two-year
college
Transfer and Mobility: A National View of Pre-Degree
Student Movement in Postsecondary Institutions
February 2012
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Transfer Students: Examining Attitudes and Motivations to Help Sustain Their Success
Students in Transition Conference 10‐20‐13
Choices on the path to completion
Our primary goals
• To create a strong(er)
connection with students
early(ier)
• To engage students in
reflective discussions about
how to develop their talents
and overcome areas of
challenge
• To match students to the
services they need (referrals
to service offices)
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Transfer Students: Examining Attitudes and Motivations to Help Sustain Their Success
Students in Transition Conference 10‐20‐13
Transfer shock!
Early identification of risk factors
Early
Identification
Early
Intervention
Success
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Transfer Students: Examining Attitudes and Motivations to Help Sustain Their Success
Students in Transition Conference 10‐20‐13
Campus programs: Four-year private
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Transfer Students: Examining Attitudes and Motivations to Help Sustain Their Success
Students in Transition Conference 10‐20‐13
Campus programs: Four-year public
Campus programs: Two-year public
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Transfer Students: Examining Attitudes and Motivations to Help Sustain Their Success
Students in Transition Conference 10‐20‐13
2
An overview of the
transfer student
experience as revealed
in the research report
Noel-Levitz research papers
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Transfer Students: Examining Attitudes and Motivations to Help Sustain Their Success
Students in Transition Conference 10‐20‐13
Student background
information
What types of information would
be most beneficial to help transfer
students “get started right” on the
path to college?
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Transfer Students: Examining Attitudes and Motivations to Help Sustain Their Success
Students in Transition Conference 10‐20‐13
Condensing the semester into 20 minutes
Between 2010 and 2012
1,708 second-year students completed the
motivational assessment
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Transfer Students: Examining Attitudes and Motivations to Help Sustain Their Success
Students in Transition Conference 10‐20‐13
Cohort definition
The statement that describes my current
college enrollment is:
•
I transferred here from a
community college.
•
I transferred here from a
four-year college or university.
Student background information
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Work
GPA
Ethnicity
Current enrollment
Credits earned
Dual enrollment here/other
institutions
Study plans
Major status
Degree sought
College/program completion
plans
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Transfer Students: Examining Attitudes and Motivations to Help Sustain Their Success
Students in Transition Conference 10‐20‐13
Over 95 percent of incoming freshmen
bring a strong desire to complete a degree
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2013 National Freshman Attitudes Report
Transfer students’ commitment to college 93%
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The Attitudes and Motivations of College Transfer Students
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Transfer Students: Examining Attitudes and Motivations to Help Sustain Their Success
Students in Transition Conference 10‐20‐13
I am able to grasp
complicated ideas
92.0%
91.0%
90.0%
89.0%
88.0%
87.0%
86.0%
85.0%
84.0%
83.0%
82.0%
91.1%
86.8%
85.2%
Four-year private
institutions
Four-year public
institutions
Two-year public
institutions
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The Attitudes and Motivations of College Transfer Students
I feel energized by the ideas I’m
learning in most of my classes
88.0%
85.6%
86.0%
84.0%
82.0%
80.0%
79.0%
79.3%
Four-year private
institutions
Four-year public
institutions
78.0%
76.0%
74.0%
Two-year public
institutions
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The Attitudes and Motivations of College Transfer Students
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Transfer Students: Examining Attitudes and Motivations to Help Sustain Their Success
Students in Transition Conference 10‐20‐13
I have many friends and
feel at home here
70.0%
68.0%
66.0%
68.7%
66.3%
64.0%
62.0%
59.6%
60.0%
58.0%
56.0%
54.0%
Four-year private
institutions
Four-year public
institutions
Two-year public
institutions
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The Attitudes and Motivations of College Transfer Students
Percent of transfer students in
agreement
Most transfer students think they
will need to study more
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
74.9%
64.1%
58.0%
I think I will need to study more than I did last
year.
Four-year private institutions
Four-year public institutions
Two-year institutions public
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The Attitudes and Motivations of College Transfer Students
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Transfer Students: Examining Attitudes and Motivations to Help Sustain Their Success
Students in Transition Conference 10‐20‐13
I have the financial resources that
I need to finish college
49.0%
48.5%
48.5%
48.0%
48.0%
47.5%
47.0%
46.7%
46.5%
46.0%
45.5%
Four-year private
institutions
Four-year public
institutions
Two-year public
institutions
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The Attitudes and Motivations of College Transfer Students
Four areas of challenge for
transfer students
Academics
Careers
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Advising
Finances
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Transfer Students: Examining Attitudes and Motivations to Help Sustain Their Success
Students in Transition Conference 10‐20‐13
Data informs campus action plan
Attitudes/
motivations
Receptivity
Satisfaction
Academic Motivation
Level of agreement with each scale and item:
(A scale score of 100% = complete agreement. For each item, 1=low agreement; 7= high agreement)
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Student
Student
Scale
Score
Item
Scores
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Transfer Students: Examining Attitudes and Motivations to Help Sustain Their Success
Students in Transition Conference 10‐20‐13
Receptivity
to Assistance
Institutional impressions
… satisfaction accounts for 17
percent of the variation in
retention
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Transfer Students: Examining Attitudes and Motivations to Help Sustain Their Success
Students in Transition Conference 10‐20‐13
Satisfaction with academic items
All survey items
OVERALL
national
mean
My overall experience as a student at this institution
5.64
Degree of academic challenge in my classes here 5.75
Frequency of interaction with my instructors
Satisfaction
with your
experiences
here thus far
(high = 7,
low =1)
5.57
Variety of majors available
5.52
Level of interaction with other students
5.13
Variety of courses available in my (desired) major
5.41
Sense of belonging to the college community
5.08
Social life (both on and off campus)
5.10
Leadership opportunities in student government and other
organizations
4.92
Opportunities to get involved in activities and events associated with
my (desired) major
5.02
Frequency of communication with my academic advisor
4.83
Availability of service learning, internships, or work experiences
associated with my career interests
4.86
Adequacy of financial assistance available to me
4.65
Transfer students’ satisfaction highlights
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The Attitudes and Motivations of College Transfer Students
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Transfer Students: Examining Attitudes and Motivations to Help Sustain Their Success
Students in Transition Conference 10‐20‐13
I would like help preparing a written
academic plan for graduation
Four-year private
Four-year public
Two-year public
70.0%
60.0%
50.0%
62.3%
58.7%
49.7%
40.0%
35.9%
31.3%
30.0%
27.4% 26.4%
25.2%
24.5%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Would like help
going forward
Received help
previously
Gap
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The Attitudes and Motivations of College Transfer Students
Advising
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Transfer Students: Examining Attitudes and Motivations to Help Sustain Their Success
Students in Transition Conference 10‐20‐13
I would like to identify work
experiences or internships
related to my major
Four-year private
Four-year public
Two-year public
90.0%
80.0%
75.7%77.6%
70.0%
59.6%
60.0%
52.9% 54.4%
50.0%
40.0%
36.5%
30.0%
23.2% 23.2%
22.9%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Would like help
going forward
Received help
previously
Gap
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The Attitudes and Motivations of College Transfer Students
I would like to explore advantages and
disadvantages of my career choice
70.0%
Four-year private
Four-year public
Two-year public
65.8%
62.3%
60.0%
50.0%
47.0%
40.0%
29.5%
29.8%
27.0%
30.0%
35.3%
36.3%
20.0%
17.2%
10.0%
0.0%
Would like help
going forward
Received help
previously
Gap
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The Attitudes and Motivations of College Transfer Students
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Transfer Students: Examining Attitudes and Motivations to Help Sustain Their Success
Students in Transition Conference 10‐20‐13
Finances
Four-year private
Four-year public
Two-year public
49.0%
48.5%
48.5%
48.0%
48.0%
47.5%
47.0%
46.7%
46.5%
46.0%
45.5%
I have the financial resources that I need to finish college
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The Attitudes and Motivations of College Transfer Students
Availability of
financial assistance
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Transfer Students: Examining Attitudes and Motivations to Help Sustain Their Success
Students in Transition Conference 10‐20‐13
I would like to discuss options for
financing my education
70.0%
Four-year private
Four-year public
Two-year public
62.9%
60.2%
54.5%
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
37.1% 34.6% 35.6%
31.3%
30.0%
23.1%
18.9%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Would like help
going forward
Received help
previously
Gap
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The Attitudes and Motivations of College Transfer Students
Transfer students’ plans for
college and degree completion
Four-year private
100.0%
90.0%
80.0%
70.0%
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
93.8% 93.7%
Four-year public
Two-year public
54.6%
42.3%
4.8% 4.5%
I plan to complete my
degree or program at
this college or
university
I plan to transfer to
another college or
university to complete
my degree
1.0% 1.4% 2.9%
I have not made a
decision about my
plans to re-enroll in
college next term
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The Attitudes and Motivations of College Transfer Students
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Transfer Students: Examining Attitudes and Motivations to Help Sustain Their Success
Students in Transition Conference 10‐20‐13
Plans to work
9.5%
0 (I do not work) 35.5%
10.2%
1 to 10 hours 14.1%
35.5%
11 to 20 hours 18.0%
12.8%
21 to 30 hours 12.8%
31 to 40 hours 10.2%
18.0%
14.1%
Over 40 hours 9.5%
3
Implications for
campus action and
best practice
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Transfer Students: Examining Attitudes and Motivations to Help Sustain Their Success
Students in Transition Conference 10‐20‐13
Sample Summary and Planning Report
Sample Summary
and Planning Report
Following up with transfer students
• Be “appropriately persistent”
• Develop a record-keeping trail
• Develop a sound
understanding with other
referral agencies
• Mark calendars and set
reminders
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Transfer Students: Examining Attitudes and Motivations to Help Sustain Their Success
Students in Transition Conference 10‐20‐13
Transfer Thursdays
Ideas from the audience
• Establish scholarships for transfer students
• Host transfer day(s)
• Offer workshops to demystify the process
• Develop a peer mentorship program
for transfer students
• Identify a dedicated space for transfer
students
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Transfer Students: Examining Attitudes and Motivations to Help Sustain Their Success
Students in Transition Conference 10‐20‐13
Ten-point checklist for recruiting
transfer students
1. Do you have a dedicated admissions staff trained to respond to transfer
student issues?
2. Are your current processes transfer-friendly?
3. Do you have dedicated resources on your Web site for transfer students?
4. Do you have special visit days just for transfer students?
5. Do you have effective orientations and intakes for transfer students?
6. Have you adequately communicated your willingness and eagerness to
accept transfer students on your campus?
7. Have you built relationships with organizations like Phi Theta Kappa to identify
excellent students from the community colleges in your region?
8. Have you reached out directly to community colleges to establish more
sustainable relationships and partnerships?
9. Do you have up-to-date articulation agreements you can readily communicate
to prospective transfer students?
10. Do you make visits to community colleges to provide personal attention to
prospective transfer students.
Seven-point checklist for retaining
transfer students
Does your institution offer:
1. Orientation programs tailored specifically for transfer students, including
segments that address concerns such as transfer of credit, finances, majorrelated internships, and meaningful work experiences?
2. Programs beyond the usual classroom and advising services that connect
transfer students to faculty, staff, and native students within academic or cocurricular interest areas?
3. Peer mentors for transfer students?
4. Assignment of students to an advisor within the student’s major/area of
interest with an early focus on confirming or further refining a written
academic plan?
5. An advising center devoted to transfer students?
6. Career fairs for students who are undecided about a major?
7. Academic support services based on areas of student need and receptivity?
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Transfer Students: Examining Attitudes and Motivations to Help Sustain Their Success
Students in Transition Conference 10‐20‐13
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