At SMU, roughly one in every 11 students is a transfer student. TS were, therefore, found to be more susceptible to attrition [21]. Thus, we put forward the research question: In an Asian educational context, what are the challenges in CC TS experiences in university? As competition for admission to university is keen, the TS studied hard in CCs to aim for good academic performances. It mostly felt like I transferred and then it just went straight to classes, just because there wasnt that social aspect, Garcia said. Every policy -- from application and admissions to the awarding of financial aid and course registration and major requirements and on and on -- should be reviewed from the perspective of transfer students. Perception of foreshortened period of bachelor study, Limited by insufficient credits transferred & extra workload from non-major courses, Inflexible arrangement of time because of timetabling, Dearth of time for extra-curricular activities, Need to develop active and independent learning, Challenges in self-identity and social experience, Identifying self with reduced sense of competence, Sense of incompetence when compared with non-TS, Lack of confidence and sense of inferiority, Having different goals and experience when compared with the non-TS, Limited chances to interact with the non-TS. Are community college transfer students a Good Bet for 4-year admissions? Wang X., Wharton B. I think Ive heard that from a lot of other students.. With a student population of only 12,391, transfer students represent a significant portion of the student body. I was only able to transfer the credits of two courses [from the CC to degree programmes]. The TS in this study achieved outstanding academic performances in their in CCs that allowed them to transfer to the university. Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. Transfer enrollment has dropped 16 percent since spring 2020 and nearly 7 percent over the past year. This implies that the students might not always have the opportunity to realize their learning interests, which might be further detrimental to their learning experience on top of the heavy workload. A study of accounting students motives, expectations and preparedness for higher education. Transfer student success: Exploring community college, university, and individual predictors. Here are four straightforward steps that four-year campuses can take. Since bachelors degrees remain essential to supporting a middle-class family, four-year institutions have a moral and political obligation to do more to recruit and welcome transfer students and take active steps to ensure that these students succeed. And then theres the out-of-sight, out-of-mind problem: the failure to feel a sense of urgency that grows out of a sense that transfer students arent ours and, therefore, their problems neednt be the object of special efforts. In the academic aspect, they faced a heavy workload from having to complete their studies within a limited timeframe for degree attainment with study-induced stress and had to develop learning approaches different from those used in CCs. Transfer students like Diego Garcia found that their struggle began after they were accepted. The process of transitioning from a passive to an active learner showed that the TS had the need, the ability and, to some extent, the flexibility to adapt to alternative learning approaches. Transfer student success is a team effort, but someone must take the lead. Many more eventually graduate -- demonstrating that these students are indeed college material. But their path to a degree isnt an easy one, often involving loss of credits and barriers to entry to their preferred major. Categories and codes of the interview data. Some of us may have kept on with this mode of learning till now [in university]. Limited research has been conducted on community college (CC) transfer students' (TS) experiences in four-year universities, particularly in Asian contexts. ), 2Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Yuk Choi Road, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China; kh.ude.uylop@mat.neuy.nik. I think we feel inferior so we believe they [non-TS] are better. Academic qualifications and post-secondary employability seem to be more emphasized and pursued in Asian societies than in the West [37]. Do you experience any challenges? Most of the studies that examined TS experiences have been conducted in Western educational contexts, predominately in the U.S., with small samples, and within limited majors. They facilitate the interviewees to discuss potentially complex phenomena in a more amenable setting and reveal what they thought and why they thought what they did [45]. Steven Mintz is senior adviser to the president of Hunter College for student success and strategic initiatives. To make friends, if you will. The experience of a transfer student was further rocked for students like Garcia and Valdez who began their SMU experience with the fully remote semester of fall 2020. The recommendations made by the taskforce regarding the transfer student experience will be submitted to the Provost later this year, and used as a part of the 10-year strategic plan to improve SMU. Stud. Xu D., Jaggars S., Fletcher J., Fink J. Faculty need to better align the junior- and senior-year college curricula. Transfer pathways into two-year institutions experienced double-digit rate declines (-21.3% or -113,300 in lateral transfer; -18.0% or -66,900 in reverse transfer). Transfer shock: The academic performance of the junior college transfer. We are getting along well with other TS, but I dont know any non-TS. Students like Garcia used university-sponsored virtual events to connect with other transfer students and create opportunities for connection remotely. Many of them [non-TS] join overseas exchange programs, but only a few TS can have this opportunity. Pioneering quantitative research on TS in the Asian educational context, the authors [5,6,7] have conducted an institution-wide questionnaire survey in the university with the largest number of TS in Hong Kong, yielding that TS tend to experience obstacles with credit transfer, to experience transfer shock, to have heavier study loads and mental health issues, to be less active in participating in social and extra-curricular activities, and to show self-stigmatization. Acai A., Newton G. A Comparison of Factors Related to University Students Learning: College-Transfer and Direct-Entry from High School Students. Essay on challenges community college students face in transferring to It affected me a lot as I had no time for other activities. To supplement this progress, the university established the Task force for the Transfer Student Experience during the past summer. and K.C. The TS emphasized the need to demonstrate deep learning through understanding and applying the knowledge and practice. The data were then imported into NVivo Pro 12 and coded for subsequent analysis using the inductive approach. 10. Transfer student success is a team effort, but someone must take the lead. 22-year-old Karrington Bennett felt this way when she left Dallas College to attend SMU. I know when I say, Oh my gosh, its so hard, youre like, duh, but I feel like I wasnt really prepped to come in to this.. TS share similar experiences of failure in public examinations and thus the need to do an associate degree programme [in the CC], and then fighting hard to get into university. Hills J.R. The differential patterns of college involvement between transfer and native students. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (, transfer students, academic adjustment, social integration, self-identity, psychological well-being, higher education in Asia. In Western educational contexts, their lack of social involvement is usually attributed to their personal backgrounds including being from low-income families [63] or having family and work responsibilities [20]. Townsend B.K., Wilson K. A hand hold for a little bit: Factors facilitating the success of community college transfer students to a large research university. Some of the most common challenges include difficulty in adjusting to a new environment, lack of a support system, difficulty in transferring credits, and the lack of clear pathways to graduation. This is especially hard for a transfer student since the majority of organizations will have already grown a base of people. Among its findings: Transfer students receive the same care, attention and expectations for success as traditional students; because of their widely varying backgrounds, it is difficult to take a "one-size-fits -all approach" to transfer students; and transfer students face more academic challenges than do students who enroll at the . ; formal analysis, L.W.Z. The process of transition for community college transfer students. I am worried about the differences in our performance in assignments between us and the non-TS even though I put a lot of effort into my work. Nonetheless, this study has shown that these TS still managed to handle the multiple sources of workload and even demonstrated the abilities to develop active and independent learning while aiming for timely degree attainment. Recognizing and tackling the in-between challenges of transfer students are essential for them to adopt the new university life (Bhabha, 1996; Dai, 2020; Dai and Hardy, 2021). Vanderbilt University is committed to principles of equal opportunity and affirmative action. The people here are great.. Nevertheless, their social integration was restricted by a lack of time for extra-curricular activities, a sense of inferiority and incompetence, and restricted social circles that did not enable interaction with non-TS. She hopes to utilize her time in the student senate to make a long-lasting impact on these issues. This implies that more educational and psychological supports are needed to inform TS about the empirical evidence on how the academic performances of the two student subpopulations have been shown to be statistically similar [66,67]. Limited research has been conducted on community college (CC) transfer students' (TS) experiences in four-year universities, particularly in Asian contexts. Sense of incompetence when compared with non-TS. Following the massification of higher education, community college (CC) transfer has emerged as a common route of entry to baccalaureate studies, as an alternative to direct post-secondary admission [1,2]. While some transfer students are identifying ways to improve their experience, others are taking advantage of resources already being offered. We are different from non-TS. The inclusion criteria were TS who had (a) graduated from a two-year CC, and (b) been studying in the bachelors degree program for at least one semester, or (c) graduated from the program within one or two years. Using Data to Reimagine Transfer in Higher Education - New America Transfer students whose challenges have often been ignored in higher education are feeling a surge in popularity as colleges and universities are increasingly wooing them . Wong Y.L. Bennett identified challenges for transfer students such as scholarship availability, on-campus representation and locating resources. To reduce credit loss, four-year campuses need to share more information with their two-year feeder schools, including which courses count toward specific majors. Accessibility Effective Practices That Support Transfer Students However, not much is known about the current learning experiences and challenges of TS across various disciplines. ); moc.361@iewiewgnahznaillil (L.W.Z. McLafferty I. As a library, NLM provides access to scientific literature. I had to demonstrate critical thinking when studying some courses. Nearly one third of students transfer institutions at some point in their college career, losing credits along the way. You definitely have at least two classes whose credits didn't transfer. Many of the steps that need to take place seem patently obvious, but that doesnt make them less important. Laanan F.S., Starobin S.S., Eggleston L.E. Pharr S., Lawrence J.J. The rise of the second generation: Aspirations, motivations and academic success of Chinese immigrants children in Hong Kong. Problems That Transfer Students Are Facing - University Magazine The data are not publicly available due to privacy and ethical. Transfer shock is usually attributed to a lack of academic preparation in their prior studies [19] and personal factors such as family and work commitments [20]. and J.N. Examining mental health differences among transfer university students seeking counselling services. In particular, while CC TS in the West can normally spend several years of studies for obtaining their baccalaureate degrees, those in Hong Kong are normally required to complete their studies in two years [33]. Through an iterative coding process where refinements were made from multiple rounds of going through the data, a coding framework was developed (Table 2). Can you tell me about your experience studying in the university till now? official website and that any information you provide is encrypted In Figure 2, transfer students were broken up into two groups based on satisfaction with overall academic experience. According to stakeholders GAO spoke with, students can face challenges transferring credits between schools that do not have statewide polices or articulation agreements, which are transfer agreements or partnerships between schools designating how credits earned at one school will transfer to another. The universe must hate you to make you take chemistry for the second time. A Qualitative Exploration on the Challenges of Transfer Students in an However, they also come with some challenges, such as limited options, unclear . Challenges with the Transition to MidU during COVID-19 For students who already transferred into MidU, the switch to remote instruction due to COVID-19 interrupted their adjustment into a new campus, creating barriers towards academic improvement and the formation of social connections. The sooner they graduate and find jobs, the sooner they will benefit from this investment in academic qualifications [53]. Ching S.S.Y., Zhang L.W.W., Guan G.Y.Y., Cheung K. The challenges of university nursing transfer students in an Asian context: A qualitative study. Designing funded qualitative research. Enrollment rates for transfer students dropped 15% in spring 2020 and 5% the following fall, compared with enrollment rates from the prior year. Last but not least, lecturers and tutors should avoid verbally expressing any labelling of TS, especially during classes and meetings [21]. Careers, Unable to load your collection due to an error. The majority of the TS expressed their tendency to stay within social circles with other TS as they had similar past experiences. Thirty-nine focus groups and seven individual interviews, depending on their availability, were conducted with 124 TSs from various disciplines and years of study from February 2018 to March 2019. The ability to adjust their conceptions of how learning should take place and their corresponding actions can counterargue negative opinions about CC TS being academically underprepared [22]. Differences in study workload stress and its associated factors between transfer students and freshmen entrants in an Asian higher education context. Establishing trustworthines. Influences of Social Relationships on the Transfer Student Experience. We cannot join even if we wish to do so because our workloads are too heavy. Meanwhile, in the short run, administrators and curriculum coordinators from CC and universities should work together towards solutions (e.g., setting up articulation agreements for improving credit transfer) that help reduce TS study loads and thereby alleviate their study-induced stress, and thus enhance their psychological well-being. Every sorority/fraternity and their mom tries to persuade you to rush. The .gov means its official. A commonly known phenomenon confronting TS is transfer shock, defined as the drop in post-transfer GPA compared to previous academic performances in CC [10,18]. government site. First, they coded the excerpts from the first 10 interviews (21.7% of 46 interviews) separately. Comparison of TSs with their peers especially the non-TSs resulted in their sense of inferiority. In this study, transferring from two-year CCs to four-year universities brought about both academic and social challenges to CC TS. For example, students often voiced that they felt lost while navigating a larger campus and were . According to the most recent statistics, 44percent of students who transfer from a community college to a four-year institution earn a bachelors degree within six years of their initial enrollment. Addressing transfer students needs and challenges. What you can learn from this countrys premier chronicler of trauma and the broken heart. Res. The course content is not as straightforward as before.When we were studying in CC, we had a better [academic] performance after we studied harder for the examination. Exploring the impact of transfer capital on community college transfer students. The transfer student champions also need to celebrate and publicize the experiences of transfer students. We need to be self-directed in learning. Our study showed that students had the need and ability to evolve from passive to active and independent learners.
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