ENROLLMENT AND COURSE TAKING BEHAVIOR OF REVERSE TRANSFER AND SUMMER-ONLY COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS
Rhonda L. Winn, Ph.D. & Sean O. Hogan, Ph.D.
March 5, 2015 1
Introduction •
The National Student Clearinghouse has recently published a series of reports on student mobility and transfer. Hossler, D., Shapiro, D., Dundar, A., Ziskin, M., Chen, J., Zerquera, D., & Torres, V. (2012). Transfer and Mobility: A National View of Pre-Degree Student Movement in Postsecondary Institutions. Herndon, VA: National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Hossler, D., Shapiro, D., Dundar, A., Ziskin, M., Chen, J., Zerquera, D., & Torres, V. (2012). Reverse Transfer: A National View of Student Mobility from Four-Year to Two-Year Institutions. Herndon, VA: National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
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One finding of these studies relates to the prevalence of reverse transfer. Within six years, about 14% of first-time students who started at a four-year institution subsequently enrolled at a two-year institution outside of summer months and an additional 5.4% enrolled at a two-year institution in summer months only.
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Only 16.6% of those with two-year enrollments outside of summer months returned to the four-year institution where they began.
March 5, 2015 2
Purpose of this Research •
The NSC notes that relatively little attention has been paid to reverse transfer movement from four-year to two-year institutions for several reasons: 1. “Vertical transfer” (from two-year to four-year) has traditionally been seen as part of the community college mission. Efforts to support these transfers are provided by most two-year colleges. 2. Until recently, the number of students moving from four-year to two-year institutions has been less well documented. Both four-year and two-year campus policy-makers may have seen less reason to focus on these enrollees.
March 5, 2015 3
Background Information about the College of Lake County •
Serves residents in Lake County, in the north-east corner of the state
•
In Fall 2014, unduplicated headcount was 15,411
•
88% were college level (13,485) and 12% were adult / vocational (2,011)
•
FTE was 8,423
•
70% of the college-level students were enrolled in a baccalaureate/transfer program of study
March 5, 2015 4
Goals •
Exploratory descriptive study
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Understand the characteristics of “reverse transfer” students who attend community college in summer only and those who do not attend exclusively in summer terms
•
Provide insights that may assist in efforts to retain students in various enrollment pathways
March 5, 2015 5
Methodology •
Studied students who were enrolled at College of Lake County (CLC) during fiscal years 2011, 2012, and 2013
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National Student Clearinghouse Student Tracker service
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Tracking period was January 2005 through September 2014
March 5, 2015 6
Classification of Students Based on Transfer •
Enrollment categories
•
Students who enrolled only at CLC during the period
•
Students who started at two-year institution and transferred to a four-year institution “vertical transfer”
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Students who started at a two-year institution, attended one or more four-year institutions, but were last enrolled at CLC
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Students who started at a four-year institution and graduated from a four-year institution
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Students who started at a four-year institution, had not graduated from a four-year institution as of the end of the tracking period, but were last tracked to a four-year institution
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Students who started at a four-year institution, had not graduated from a four-year institution as of the end of the tracking period, and were last tracked to a two-year institution
March 5, 2015 7
Size of Categories •
During the three fiscal years under study, there were 62,152 unduplicated students enrolled in credit courses at CLC
•
Based on the NSC tracking file, 58% (32,278) were enrolled at CLC only during the tracking period
•
42% (25,874) attended CLC and another institution
•
A majority (62%) attended CLC and only one other institution / 26% attended CLC and two other institutions
March 5, 2015 8
First Institution Where Non-CLC Only Students Enrolled •
Looking at the 25,874 students who attended CLC and another institution: 57% (14,816) first attended a two-year institution 43% (11,047) first attended a four-year institution
March 5, 2015 9
Students Who Started at a Two-Year Institution •
52% transferred to a four-year institution “vertical transfers”
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48% were last tracked to a two-year institution
March 5, 2015 10
Students Who Started at a Four-Year Institution •
Most (61%) started at a public institution
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Top four-year institutions where students were first enrolled University of Illinois @ Urbana Illinois State University University of Illinois at Chicago Northern Illinois University
March 5, 2015 11
Students Who Started at a Four-Year Institution
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52% (5690) had graduated from a four-year institution as of the end of the tracking period
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Source: NSC tracking file. Note: not all institutions report graduations to the NSC
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The average number of terms enrolled at four-year institutions:
Students who graduated from a four-year institution Number of terms enrolled at four-year institutions=10.14 Number of terms enrolled at two-year institutions=3.0 Students who had not graduated from a four-year institution Number of terms enrolled at four-year institutions=5.68 Number of terms enrolled at two-year institutions=4.33
March 5, 2015 12
Students Who Started at a Four-Year Institution
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Relationship between graduation from four-year institution and length of enrollment at two-year institution
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Over 60% of students who were enrolled at a two-year institution for one term only were four-year graduates, while 48% of students who were enrolled at a two-year institution for two or more terms were four-year graduates
March 5, 2015 13
Students Who Started at a Four-Year Institution But Had Not Graduated from a Four-Year Institution •
44% were last tracked to a four-year institution (N=2348)
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56% were last tracked to a two-year institution (N=3003)
•
Most (88%) of those last tracked to a two-year institution were tracked to CLC (N=2649)
March 5, 2015 14
Enrollment Categories for the FY 2011, 2012, and 2013 Credit Enrollees •
Groups which will be the focus of the descriptive tables will be the “reverse transfers”
CLC CREDIT ENROLLEES FY 2011, 2012, AND 2013 (N=62,152) First Attended Four-Year, Did Not Graduate from Four-Year, Last Tracked to Two-Year First Attended Four-Year, Did Not Graduate from Four-Year, Last Tracked to Four-Year First Attended Four-Year, Graduated from Four-Year First Attended Two-Year, Last Tracked to Two-Year First Attended Two-Year, Transferred to Four-Year Attended CLC Only
5% 4% 9% 11% 12% 58%
March 5, 2015 15
Descriptive Labels
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First attended four-year institution, graduated from four-year institution “Four-Year Grads”
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First attended four-year institution, did not graduate from four-year institution, last tracked to four-year institution “Four-Year Loyalists”
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First attended four-year institution, did not graduate from four-year institution, last tracked to CLC “FourYear to CLC”
March 5, 2015 16
Summer Only Attendance Among “Reverse Transfer” Students
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Four-Year Grads 51% Summer Only
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Four-Year Loyalists 49% Summer Only
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Four-Year to CLC Students 6%
March 5, 2015 17
Number of Terms Attended at CLC •
Four-Year Grads Attended Summer Terms Only One Term (64%) Two Terms (28%) Three Terms (7%) Four or More Terms (1%) Did Not Attend Summer Terms Only One Term (22%) Two Terms (20%) Three Terms (17%) Four or More Terms (41%)
March 5, 2015 18
Number of Terms Attended at CLC •
Four-Year Loyalists: Attended Summer Terms Only One Term (72%) Two Terms (24%) Three Terms (4%) Four or More Terms (0%) Did Not Attend Summer Terms Only One Term (19%) Two Terms (23%) Three Terms (17%) Four or More Terms (41%)
March 5, 2015 19
Number of Terms Attended at CLC •
Four-Year to CLC Students: Attended Summer Terms Only One Term (48%) Two Terms (30%) Three Terms (22%) Four or More Terms (1%) Did Not Attend Summer Terms Only One Term (14%) Two Terms (13%) Three Terms (13%) Four or More Terms (60%)
March 5, 2015 20
Demographic Characteristics
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Four-Year Grads, Four-Year Loyalists, and Four-Year to CLC students similar in gender and ethnic makeup Summer-Only Four-Year Grads and Four-Year Loyalists almost exclusively age 18-24 (93%-97%) Summer-Only Four-Year to CLC students 18-24 (67%) Non-Summer-Only Four-Year Grads 18-24 (41%) Non-Summer-Only Four-Year Loyalists 18-24 (77%) Non-Summer-Only Four-Year to CLC students 18-24 (57%)
March 5, 2015 21
Major •
Four-Year Grads Summer-Only “Transfer Course Enrollee” (96%) “Associate Degree Major” (3%) Non-Summer-Only “Transfer Course Enrollee” (64%) “Associate Degree Major” (24%)
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Four-Year Loyalists Summer-Only “Transfer Course Enrollee” (94%) “Associate Degree Major” (5%) Non-Summer-Only “Transfer Course Enrollee” (43%) “Associate Degree Major” (54%)
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Four-Year to CLC Students Summer-Only “Transfer Course Enrollee” (80%) “Associate Degree Major” (16%) Non-Summer-Only “Transfer Course Enrollee” (29%) “Associate Degree Major” (65%)
March 5, 2015 22
Course Subjects Taken FOUR-YEAR GRADS
MOST FREQUENT SUBJECTS TAKEN
Attended Summer Terms Only
Did Not Attend Summer Terms Only
Total
Mathematics
654
12%
1299
7%
1953
8%
Biology
236
4%
1539
8%
1775
7%
English
304
5%
1401
7%
1705
7%
Psychology
455
8%
1010
5%
1465
6%
History
433
8%
658
3%
1091
4%
Sociology
319
6%
574
3%
893
4%
Communications
209
4%
652
3%
861
3%
Computer Information Technology
91
2%
761
4%
852
3%
Economics
413
7%
387
2%
800
3%
Chemistry
160
3%
610
3%
770
3%
3274
59%
8891
46%
12165
48%
OTHER
2319
41%
10635
54%
12954
52%
TOTAL
5593
100%
19526
100%
25119
100%
SUBTOTAL TOP 10 SUBJECT AREAS
March 5, 2015 23
Grades in Top Three Subjects GRADES TOP THREE SUBJECTS FOUR-YEAR GRADS Attended Summer Terms Only
PASS (C OR BETTER)
D, F, NOT PASS
OTHER
TOTAL
Mathematics
566
87%
56
9%
32
5%
654
100%
Biology
231
98%
3
1%
2
1%
236
100%
English
289
95%
2
1%
13
4%
304
100%
TOTAL
1086
91%
61
5%
47
4%
1194
100%
Did Not Attend Summer Terms Only Mathematics
983
76%
161
12%
155
12%
1299
100%
Biology
1349
88%
60
4%
130
8%
1539
100%
English
1248
89%
33
2%
120
9%
1401
100%
TOTAL
3580
84%
254
6%
405
10%
4239
100%
March 5, 2015 24
Course Subjects Taken FOUR-YEAR LOYALISTS
MOST FREQUENT SUBJECTS TAKEN
Attended Summer Terms Only
Did Not Attend Summer Terms Only
Total
Mathematics
341
17%
1156
9%
1497
11%
English
120
6%
1188
10%
1308
9%
Psychology
139
7%
845
7%
984
7%
Biology
91
4%
771
6%
862
6%
Philosophy
98
5%
639
5%
737
5%
History
136
7%
541
4%
677
5%
Communications
87
4%
579
5%
666
5%
Sociology
103
5%
533
4%
636
4%
Humanities
44
2%
542
4%
586
4%
Economics
155
8%
383
3%
538
4%
1314
65%
7177
59%
8491
60%
SUBTOTAL TOP 10 SUBJECT AREAS
0% OTHER
712
35%
4999
41%
5711
40%
TOTAL
2026
100%
12176
100%
14202
100%
March 5, 2015 25
Grades Top Three Subjects GRADES TOP THREE SUBJECTS FOUR-YEAR LOYALISTS Attended Summer Terms Only PASS (C OR BETTER)
D, F, NOT PASS
OTHER
TOTAL
Mathematics
257
75%
60
18%
24
7%
341
100%
English
105
88%
5
4%
10
8%
120
100%
Psychology
126
91%
4
3%
9
6%
139
100%
Total
488
81%
69
12%
43
7%
600
100%
Did Not Attend Summer Terms Only PASS (C OR BETTER)
D, F, NOT PASS
OTHER
TOTAL
Mathematics
717
62%
230
20%
209
18%
1156
100%
English
925
78%
82
7%
181
15%
1188
100%
Psychology
675
80%
76
9%
94
11%
845
100%
Total
2317
73%
388
12%
484
15%
3189
100%
March 5, 2015 26
Course Subjects Taken FOUR-YEAR TO CLC STUDENTS
MOST FREQUENT SUBJECTS TAKEN
Attended Summer Terms Only
Did Not Attend Summer Terms Only
Total
English
27
7%
2700
9%
2727
9%
Mathematics
26
6%
2692
9%
2718
9%
Psychology
48
12%
1906
6%
1954
6%
Biology
20
5%
1820
6%
1840
6%
Communications
10
2%
1374
5%
1384
4%
Philosophy
10
2%
1191
4%
1201
4%
Business
15
4%
1174
4%
1189
4%
Humanities
12
3%
1144
4%
1156
4%
History
19
5%
1049
3%
1068
3%
Sociology
16
4%
1026
3%
1042
3%
203
49%
16076
53%
16279
53%
OTHER
209
51%
14322
47%
14531
47%
TOTAL
412
100%
30398
100%
30810
100%
SUBTOTAL TOP 10 SUBJECT AREAS
March 5, 2015 27
Grades in Top Three Subjects GRADES TOP THREE SUBJECTS FOUR-YEAR TO CLC STUDENTS Attended Summer Terms Only
PASS (C OR BETTER)
D, F, NOT PASS
OTHER
TOTAL
English
17
63%
6
22%
4
15%
27
100%
Mathematics
18
69%
5
19%
3
12%
26
100%
Psychology
40
83%
6
13%
2
4%
48
100%
Total
75
74%
17
17%
9
9%
101
100%
Did Not Attend Summer Terms Only English
1604
59%
310
11%
786
29%
2700
100%
Mathematics
1253
47%
694
26%
745
28%
2692
100%
Psychology
1247
65%
281
15%
378
20%
1906
100%
Total
4104
56%
1285
18%
1909
26%
7298
100%
March 5, 2015 28
Grades In Developmental Math Four-Year Grads Relatively few four-year grads enrolled in developmental math at CLC. Most of those who did passed with a C or better. GRADES IN DEVELOPMENTAL COURSES FOUR-YEAR GRADS Attended Summer Terms Only
MTH102 MTH104 MTH106
PASS (C OR BETTER) 8 89% 1 50% 1 100%
MTH108 TOTAL
17 27
MTH101 MTH102 MTH104 MTH106 MTH107 MTH108 TOTAL
7 76 32 5 2 93 215
0 0 0
0% 0% 0%
9 2 1
TOTAL 100% 100% 100%
3 14% 2 5 15% 2 Did Not Attend Summer Terms Only 78% 2 22% 0 72% 21 20% 8 86% 2 5% 3 100% 0 0% 0 100% 0 0% 0 68% 26 19% 18 73% 51 17% 29
9% 6%
22 34
100% 100%
0% 8% 8% 0% 0% 13% 10%
9 105 37 5 2 137 295
100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
77% 79%
D, F, NOT PASS 1 11% 1 50% 0 0%
OTHER
March 5, 2015 29
Grades in Developmental Math Courses at CLC •
As with the Four-Year Grads, few Four-Year Loyalists enrolled in developmental math courses. Just over half of those who did passed with a C or better. GRADES IN DEVELOPMENTAL COURSES FOUR-YEAR LOYALISTS Attended Summer Terms Only
PASS (C OR BETTER)
D, F, NOT PASS
OTHER
TOTAL
MTH101
0
0%
2
100%
0
0%
2
100%
MTH102
1
25%
3
75%
0
0%
4
100%
MTH106
1
100%
0
0%
0
0%
1
100%
MTH108
10
63%
2
13%
4
25%
16
100%
TOTAL
12
52%
7
30%
4
17%
23
100%
Did Not Attend Summer Terms Only MTH101
9
69%
1
8%
3
23%
13
100%
MTH102
73
56%
29
22%
28
22%
130
100%
MTH104
17
71%
3
13%
4
17%
24
100%
MTH106
8
80%
2
20%
0
0%
10
100%
MTH108
89
57%
43
28%
24
15%
156
100%
TOTAL
196
59%
78
23%
59
18%
333
100%
March 5, 2015 30
Grades in Developmental Math Courses at CLC There were relatively more enrollments in developmental math courses among the Four-Year to CLC students. About half of the student grades in these courses were C or better.
GRADES IN DEVELOPMENTAL COURSES FOUR-YEAR TO CLC STUDENTS Attended Summer Terms Only
MTH101 MTH102 MTH108 TOTAL
MTH101 MTH102 MTH104 MTH106 MTH107 MTH108 TOTAL
PASS (C OR BETTER) 0 0% 1 100% 2 67% 3 50%
34 202 72 31 7 197 543
D, F, NOT PASS 2 100% 0 0% 0 0% 2 33%
Did Not Attend Summer Terms Only 57% 8 13% 46% 122 28% 62% 21 18% 48% 12 19% 78% 1 11% 45% 128 29% 48% 292 26%
OTHER
TOTAL 100% 100% 100% 100%
0 0 1 1
0% 0% 33% 17%
2 1 3 6
18 119 24 21 1 110 293
30% 27% 21% 33% 11% 25% 26%
60 443 117 64 9 435 1128
100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
March 5, 2015 31
Summary / Discussion •
“Reverse Transfer” students make up a substantial percentage of enrollees at the College of Lake County (about 18% of the credit students enrolled during the 3-fiscal year time period under study started at a four-year institution)
•
Many of them go on to graduate from a four-year institution or to continue their enrollment at a four-year institution. These students on average enroll at a two-year institution for 3 or 4 terms.
•
Students who attended CLC in summer terms only differed from non-summer only students in a number of ways. They were largely younger (18-24). They were enrolled in fewer terms at CLC, were in a “Transfer Course Enrollee” major rather than an Associate Degree major, and had mostly successful course outcomes.
•
Students who started at a four-year institution but were last enrolled at CLC largely did not attend summeronly. A higher percentage of these students were in Associate Degree majors, and had lower course pass rates. More of them were enrolled in developmental mathematics courses, where they had mixed success.
•
Additional resources to assist these students may be needed.
March 5, 2015 32
