Challenges For Transfer Students at the College of William and Mary

1. Challenges For Transfer Students at the College of William and Mary Luanna Martins EPPL751: Sociology of (Higher) Education Summer 2011

2. Importance • Significant amount in transfer activity in the US • However, the transfer activity still not well known - difficulties in defining, identifying, and collecting transfer data at the student level. (SCHEV, 2003) • VA recognizes the potential of improved transfer for reducing costs of HE, increasing access (especially for minorities), avoiding duplication, and improving education quality. (SCHEV, 2003) • Transfer has the potential to support state performance goals in baccalaureate degree completion. (SCHEV, 2009)

3. Background at William and Mary The College has a guaranteed admission agreement (as long as the students complete particular courses, fulfill all necessary conditions for a transfer associate degree, and earn a certain GPA) with the Virginia Community College System. Arguably, this statewide articulation is an effort to make the public resource of a William and Mary education more accessible and diverse. Have you seen President Reveley’s ad on TV about TCC?

4. William and Mary efforts • Webpages Transferring from a Virginia Community College Transfer Student Ambassadors Transfer Student Services • Prospective Transfer Days (a total of five are planned for the 2011-2012 academic year. These afternoon programs include a transfer information session, campus tour, faculty panel, and student panel as well as the opportunity to meet with administrators who work with transfer students) • Academic Advising • Staff (including an admission officer and an assistant dean of students, and an assistant director of academic advising)

5. Research question Is William and Mary a place where transfer students can be and are successful as promised?

6. Themes and subthemes • Theme 1 (Prior experience) will deal with the transfer process and the transfer students’ perceptions of William and Mary versus the community college. Subtheme 1 (Expectations about the four-year institution) will gather qualitative data on students’ expectations and how that affect their outcomes. • Theme 2 (Challenges faced) will compound several student’s academic and social experiences deemed as challenges in the institution: lack of social integration, need to work, family pressure to succeed, cost, academic performance, lack of cultural capital, student socioeconomic background, student characteristics (age, race, gender). Subtheme 2 (William and Mary’s structure) will analyze whether the teaching methods, class size, faculty and administrative support given is satisfactory. • Theme 3 (Success graduating) will analyze the number of years to graduate. Subtheme three (success after graduating) will gather quantitative data on degrees and their economic values, and whether transfer students give back to their alma matter.

7. Literature Review (just a hand full) • A Hand hold for a little bit: Factors facilitating the success of community college transfer students to a large research university (July/August 2006) authors Townsend and Wilson describe factors affecting the academic and social integrations of community college transfer students qualitatively by interviewing 19 students who transferred to one state’s large Research-Extensive university. Findings include : “with sufficient academic and social integration into the educational community, students will likely persist, unless external commitments or changing intentions and goals work against persistence in a particular institution or even in higher education itself (p. 440).” • Transfer students may lack sufficient awareness of differences between its culture and those of four-year institutions, resulting in uneasiness and frustration, to what the authors pose as a reason for the drop in GPA after a student transfers. This drop, called “transfer shock” by many researchers is evident at William and Mary as reported in SCHEV’s June 2003 Research report: The Condition of Transfer in the Commonwealth: transfer students experienced a drop of -1.02 at the College when compared with their VCCS GPAs.

8. One more concern Characteristics of the transfer population (i.e. age, finance, academic load) may put these students at risk for not completing the four-year degree. For example, SCHEV’s report - The Condition of Transfer in the Commonwealth (2003) states that older students are more likely to have conflicts with work schedules or heavier demands of providing for dependents that require them to enroll part-time.

9. Action Plan to be performed by May 2012 • More lit. review • Attending two of the five prospective student days • Scheduling a group interview with transfer students • Send an online survey (to include questionnaires about students’ challenges) • One-on-one interviews • Interviews with faculty and administrators • Analyze the data!

10. Conclusion William and Mary has made partnerships with community colleges throughout the state ensuring that transfer students can be successful at this institution. Is the College indeed a place where transfer students are and can be successful as advertised? The literature poses several challenges to transfer students to graduate successfully, challenges stemming not only from the students’ personal circumstances (social integration, financial, need to work, family pressure, low self-esteem, lower GPA, lack of cultural capital, students ‘high risk characteristics) but also those resulting from the institutional structure and culture (teaching methods, lack of support). This study will aim to scrutinize which of those challenges transfer students face a the College and aid policymakers in decision-making.