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Earlier this year, a report from the National Student Clearinghouse brought some welcome news following years of declines in college transfer. The data showed that, of the 11.7 million undergraduate students enrolled in college last fall, 1.2 million had transferred within the past three years, a more than 5% gain from the previous year. The findings were rightfully celebrated for showing a rise in learners — including those from middle- and low-income backgrounds — moving from community colleges to four-year institutions.
But a closer look at the data reveals a troubling reality: upward transfer accounts for only a minority of all transfer learners. The report also found that 260,000 students transferred laterally between four-year institutions, while another 240,000 did the same between two-year colleges. More than 180,000 learners reverse transferred from a four-year university to a two-year institution.
For the 80% of community college students who hope to earn a bachelor’s degree, transfer offers a promising, if still difficult, pathway to achieve their aspirations. However, for most students not seeking upward transfer, the transfer process is more of an unfortunate necessity — a strategy for students to access courses they couldn’t complete at their home institution, helping them stay on track for graduation. For these students, the credit transfer process operates quite differently and frequently leads to unsatisfactory outcomes for both the students and their home colleges. Just 66% of lateral transfers persist into their second year, compared to 91% of community college transfers and 76% of non-transfers.
The transfer process is fraught with financial and bureaucratic hurdles. Credit mobility between two- and four-year institutions plays a key role in the success of students as they navigate this labyrinthine route. But while the transfer process may offer hard-earned rewards for upward transfers, it’s an even riskier gamble for lateral and reverse transfer students. The transfer journey is not how many envision it in policy circles, and higher education and policy leaders should move beyond their narrow view of the process. At a time when just 60% of students go on to graduate, recognizing and embracing the diverse pathways students take to and through college is fundamental to boosting completion.
Many lateral transfers are not looking to leave their current institutions. Nearly 60% of degree-seeking students find their paths to completion blocked by barriers of time, space, and availability, and many feel compelled to seek out other colleges in order to retake failed courses or enroll in required courses that align with their schedules. Largely left to find their way alone, students face numerous roadblocks in locating the classes they need and determining whether their home institution will accept the credit. The lack of clear credit mobility policies poses significant challenges for upward transfers, but they are even less accommodating for other kinds of transfer students. These learners often cannot use their financial aid to take courses at another college. Additionally, these courses frequently do not count toward their GPA, which is critical if the course is meant to replace a failing grade. The result is an Ă la carte model that costs students both time and money and rarely serves them well.
For these forgotten transfer learners, a promising model is gaining traction among institutions: the consortial course-sharing model. Historically used by U.S. colleges and universities as the basis for regional networks and study abroad programs, this model leverages existing capacity from other institutions to provide students with an expanded course catalog. It guarantees that credits obtained within the consortium count as home institution credits including toward GPA and graduation requirements, helping students stay on track toward their degrees. Additionally, the model can save students money, as the costs of consortial courses are included in their tuition bills at their home institution and factored into financial aid offers.
Small, private colleges have long seen the benefits of this model. Many of these institutions do not traditionally offer summer courses, leading to students transferring to other campuses during the summer with the intent to return. Unfortunately, many never come back. Private colleges have learned that consortium models help ensure that students receive the credits they need without transferring away and potentially not returning.
Jarvis Christian University, for example, uses course-sharing to offer a menu of core courses during the summer, removing bottlenecks that made it difficult for students to graduate on time. In the summer of 2022, 47 Jarvis students tapped the consortium to find the courses they needed to maintain their academic progress. The following fall, nearly 200 Jarvis students took such courses. One student and recent graduate from Jarvis Christian University, named Charlotte Kennedy, found herself unable to take a required biology course and lab due to scheduling conflicts. Through course-sharing working with her advisor, Charlotte was able to take the course and graduate on time.
Public institutions and state systems are also now recognizing the need to better support their students through consortial networks. A growing network of public colleges and universities are exploring ways to harness the advantages of course-sharing — and working together to improve credit mobility.
Upward transfer remains one of higher education’s most effective tools for ensuring social and economic mobility, but we cannot view — or support — all transfer students in the same way. Students don’t always progress toward their degrees in a straight line, and they need flexibility in both course access and scheduling. Sometimes the most direct route to college completion requires a brief detour that involves taking classes elsewhere. It’s up to institutions to ensure all roads lead back home.
Luis Rincon is co-founder and chief strategy officer of Acadeum and Dr. Yolanda Watson Spiva is president of CCA.