Xiaoyun Yang, UNC-GA Keith J. Brown, UNC-GA J. Keith Brown, NCCCS

1. Enrollment Patterns and Completion Status: Students in North Carolina Public Postsecondary Institutions Xiaoyun Yang, UNC-GA Keith J. Brown, UNC-GA J. Keith Brown, NCCCS

2. Introduction Undergraduate students’ enrollment patterns have changed over the past two decades. NCES (2005) study shows: • 1995-96 freshmen cohort, 40% had attended more than one institution by 2001. • 1999-00 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients, 59% attended more than one institution during their undergraduate studies. • 47% of those who enrolled in 4-yr institutions attended more than one institution without transferring

3. Literature Review Reasons to transfer from 2-yr to 4-yr institutions: • lower tuition • more convenient class locations and flexible time • smaller class sizes • a chance to improve GPA Factors related to transferring from 4-yr to 2-yr institutions or taking courses at 2-yr institutions without transferring: • financial, emotional, and remedial reasons • to enroll in developmental skill courses • to take prerequisite courses • to supplement credits or coursework at 4-yr institutions

4. Research Questions • What proportion of students stayed in their original institutions? • What proportion of students transferred within their original system? • What proportion of NCCCS students transferred to UNC? • What proportion of UNC students transferred to NCCCS? • What proportion of students went back and forth between the two systems? • How long did it take for these students to obtain a degree?

5. Definition of Terms • First-time freshmen: students who graduated from a high school in previous year enrolled in NCCCS or UNC for the first time. • Traditional students: students who attended only one institution for their entire collegiate career. • Parallel transfers: students left their initially enrolled institution and attended 2 or more institutions within NCCCS or UNC system. • Vertical transfers: students who enrolled in NCCCS left CC and attended UNC institutions regardless whether they obtained a degree from NCCCS or only took one course there.

6. Definition of Terms (Cont.) • Reverse transfers: students who enrolled in UNC left UNC and went to NCCCS during their undergraduate studies. • Swirlers: students went back and forth between NCCCS and UNC and attended more than 3 institutions during their undergraduate years. • Elapsed semester: the number of semesters from entry into a program to the awarding of the degree. • Registered semester: the number of semesters in which students were registered.

7. Methodology and Research Design • Descriptive analysis • Longitudinal data from NCCCS & UNC • Enrollment pattern analysis—10-year cohort, 1997-98 through 2006-07 • Graduation rates and time-to-degree analysis—4-year cohort, 1997-98 through 2000-01 • Only including the “traditional” college students, who going from high school to either UNC or NCCCS

8. Enrollment Patterns of the Students In North Carolina Public Postsecondary Institutions Percent

9. Enrollment Patterns of the Students In North Carolina Public Postsecondary Institutions Percent

10. Enrollment Patterns of the Students Who Started at NCCCS Percent

11. Enrollment Patterns of the Students Who Started at UNC Percent

12. Graduation Rates of Students in North Carolina Postsecondary Institutions

13. Time-to-Degree of Students in North Carolina Postsecondary Institutions

14. ACC and REJ Students’ Enrollment

15. ACC and REJ Students’ Graduationand Time-to-Degree

16. Conclusions of the Study • Different from other studies conducted regionally or nationwide, overwhelming majority of students in North Carolina public postsecondary institutions enrolled and stayed in their original institutions. • As other studies revealed, students who attended more institutions during their undergraduate study took longer time to graduate.

17. Conclusions of the Study • Students in NC public sectors average take about 10 elapsed semesters and 7 registered semesters to complete their study from NCCCS. • It takes students a little over 9 elapsed semesters and close to 9 registered semesters to obtain a bachelor’s degree from UNC institutions.

18. Limitation of the Study • The research is limited by data availability. • The research is limited by data reliability. • Lacking of qualitative research to find more in-depth information. • Data on 4-year private institutions were not available.

19. Discussion • Students at 4-year institutions may have a greater attachment to the institution at which they begin. • Fewer barriers to parallel transfer between community colleges as opposed to UNC institutions increases the number of students attending multiple community colleges. • Community colleges play a “safety net” role for UNC students. • The statewide articulation agreement between the UNC and NCCCS system may be changing student attendance behavior. • Community college students experience more interruptions in their educational path than do UNC students.

20. Presenters’ Contact Information JKB: J. Keith Brown – (919) 807-6979 brownk@nccommunitycolleges.edu KJB: Keith J. Brown – (919) 962-4547 kjb@northcarolina.edu JJ: Xiaoyun Yang – (919) 962-4549 xyang@northcarolina.edu