Out of the 2.8 million students who started their postsecondary education in the fall of 2011, over one million of them continued their studies at a different institution, resulting in an overall six year transfer rate of 38.0 percent. This report defines student transfer and mobility as any change in a student’s institution of enrollment irrespective of the timing, direction, or location of the move, and regardless of whether any credits were transferred from one institution to another. The transfer rate reported here considers the student’s first instance of movement to a different institution, before receiving a bachelor’s degree and within a period of six years. For those students who began at two-year public institutions, we also include transfers that happened after receiving a degree at the starting two-year institution. Two-year institutions served almost 1.5 million students of the fall 2011 cohort, including those who started in two year institutions and those who transferred. This figure represents more than half of the entire fall 2011 cohort and all transfers, indicating that two-year institutions not only served most of the starting cohort, but also most of the transfer population as well. However, many of the students who transfer from community colleges do so without a degree. Only 5.6 percent of this cohort transferred after receiving a credential from their starting institution, either a certificate or an associate’s degree. The vast majority transferred without a degree. For the first time, this report also included transfer patterns disaggregated by race and ethnicity. Results by race and ethnicity show that there is little variation in total transfer. The differences only emerge when focusing on specific transfer pathways and mobility patterns. Regardless of race or ethnic background, for example, most of the four-year transfers were to two-year institutions. When disaggregated by summer swirlers, defined as summer term enrollment at a two year institution followed by a return to the starting four-year institution, the results showed that Asian and White students were substantially more likely to be summer swirling than Black and Hispanic students. Further, for two year starters, Asian and White students were more likely than Black and Hispanic students to continue their education at a four-year institution. The national transfer statistics provided here show that student mobility is diverse, complex and increasing. We hope that the information presented will help practitioners and policy makers to better understand the realities of student mobility today, and to better serve the needs of mobile students tomorrow.

Submission ID:

T4.1747

Day:

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Time: 

3:30 PM - 5:00 PM