Dive Brief:
- With federal data showing undergraduate enrollment on the decline, transfer students are starting to receive more attention from college and universities hoping to increase their enrollment rates, reports The New York Times. This trend is predicted to grow as the number of high school graduates is expected to decline over the next decade.
- Transfer students have traditionally been one of the most ignored groups in higher education, administrators told the Times. However more schools like Princeton University are turning an eye toward the group, having accepted 13 transfer students for its 2018 class for the first time since 1990. And last fall, the University of Central Florida’s incoming class consisted of 62% transfer students.
- Statistics from the National Student Clearinghouse show an overall transfer rate of 38% for postsecondary students, and studies demonstrate these individuals help increase institutional revenue by replacing students who leave in their first or second year. Data also show that transfer students are often racially, ethnically and socioeconomically diverse.
Dive Insight:
A recent report from the National Student Research Clearinghouse Center states that only 60,000 students out of out of more than 1 million who started their education at a two-year institution transferred to another college after receiving a credential of some kind.
This reality suggests closer partnerships between community colleges and four-year institutions is becoming increasingly critical. For instance, a report issued last year by the federal Government Accountability Office says that transfer students lose 43% of the credits they have earned. The partnership between George Mason University and Northern Virginia Community College was recently highlighted as one of the nation’s most successful transfer partnerships at the American Association of Community Colleges’ annual convention.
More adults are looking to attend college due to changes in demographic and economic trends. For many adults, community colleges offer a cost effective solution to completing a degree. That is why The NTAR Leadership Center recommends that community college leaders create partnerships not only with four-year institutions, but with local employers, industry, and community-based organizations.