Transfer

1
Transfer Native Students Academic Preparation
Enrollment Status, During Their Sophomore Year
Their Graduation Status Five Years Later

• Juliette M. StoeringLina Lu
• Portland State University

2
Characteristics ofPortland State University

• Urban public comprehensive university
• Almost 2/3 of new students each Fall enter as
  transfer students

3
Research Questions

• How do the enrollment and graduation status of
  transfers and native students compare?
• What is the relationship between enrollment and
  graduation status? Does it differ for transfer
  and native students?
• What are the relationships between
• student characteristics,
• prior academic preparation,
• enrollment status during the sophomore year, and
• graduation status within five years?
• Is the effect stronger for native or
  transfer students?
• For transfer students, does transfer institution
  type (2 or 4 yr) affect enrollment and graduation
  status?

4
Research Design

• 3 cohorts of native and transfer students
  collapsed for purposes of analysis
• Continuous enrollment, graduation, and stop- and
  drop-out behavior defined
• Chi-square comparisons based on student status
  (native / transfer) and enrollment status
• Regression models to predict enrollment and
  graduation status

5
Definition of Student Type

• Transfer student
• Student transferring to PSU for the first term as
  a sophomore (i.e., 45-89 transfer hours) for fall
  term 1995, 1996, or 1997
• Native student
• Achieved sophomore status (i.e., earned 45-89
  hours by fall term 1995, 1996, or 1997
• Originally admitted and enrolled at PSU as
  first-time freshman

6
Sample Characteristics N 2,400 (p lt .05)
7
Sample Characteristics (contd.) (p lt .05)
8
Definition of Enrollment Status during the
Sophomore Year

• Continually enrolled
• Sophomore enrolls 1st fall, winter, spring, and
  2nd fall
• Sophomore enrolls for all 4 terms
• Stopped out
• Sophomore enrolls for at least one other term
  besides the first fall
• Sophomore enrolls for 2 or 3 terms out of 4
• Dropped out
• Sophomores enrolls only for the 1st fall, but
  does not enroll for any other term
• Sophomore enrolls for 1 term out of 4.

9
Definition of Graduation Status within Five Years

• Graduated
• Sophomore has graduated within five years of the
  sophomore year
• Enrolled
• Sophomore has not yet graduated but has enrolled
  for at least one term in the fifth year
• Dropped out
• Sophomore has not yet graduated and does not
  enroll for any term during the fifth year

10
ResultsHow does transfer nativeenrollment
status compare?
11
ResultsHow does transfer nativegraduation
status compare?
12
ResultsWhat is the relationship between
enrollment and graduation status?
13
ResultsWhat predicts enrollment and graduation
status?
Prior GPA
?
Enrollment Status(1 Dropped 2 Stopped 3
Enrolled)
?
1st Term Credits
?
Age
Prior GPA
?
Graduation Status(1 Dropped 2 Enrolled 3
Graduated)
?
1st Term Credits
?
Age
14
ResultsWhat predicts enrollment and graduation
status? (contd.)
Prior GPA
ß .07
Enrollment Status(1 Dropped 2 Stopped 3
Enrolled)
ß .36
1st Term Credits
ß .04
Age
Prior GPA
ß .16
Graduation Status(1 Dropped 2 Enrolled 3
Graduated)
ß .22
1st Term Credits
ß -.04
Age
15
ResultsWhat role does enrollment status play in
predicting graduation status?
Prior GPA
ß .07
Enrollment Status(1 Dropped 2 Stopped 3
Enrolled)
ß .36
1st Term Credits
ß .04
Age
Prior GPA
ß .16
Graduation Status(1 Dropped 2 Enrolled 3
Graduated)
ß .22
1st Term Credits
ß -.04
Age
?
Enrollment Status
16
Results What role does enrollment status play in
predicting graduation status?
Prior GPA
ß .07
Enrollment Status(1 Dropped 2 Stopped 3
Enrolled)
ß .36
1st Term Credits
ß .04
Age
Prior GPA
ß .13
Graduation Status(1 Dropped 2 Enrolled 3
Graduated)
ß .04
1st Term Credits
ß -.06
Age
ß .51
Enrollment Status
17
ResultsWhat role does being a transfer student
play in the model?
Prior GPA
ß .07
Enrollment Status(1 Dropped 2 Stopped 3
Enrolled)
ß .36
1st Term Credits
ß .04
Age
?
Student Type
Prior GPA
ß .13
Graduation Status(1 Dropped 2 Enrolled 3
Graduated)
ß .04
1st Term Credits
ß -.06
Age
?
ß .51
Enrollment Status
Student Type
18
Results What role does being a transfer student
play in the model?
Prior GPA
ß .06
Enrollment Status(1 Dropped 2 Stopped 3
Enrolled)
ß .35
1st Term Credits
ß .06
Age
ß -.06
Student Type
Prior GPA
ß .14
Graduation Status(1 Dropped 2 Enrolled 3
Graduated)
ß .05
1st Term Credits
ß -.07
Age
ß .51
ß .03
Enrollment Status
Student Type
19
Results What role does type of transfer
institution play in the model?
Prior GPA
ß .06
Enrollment Status(1 Dropped 2 Stopped 3
Enrolled)
ß .35
1st Term Credits
ß .06
Age
ß -.06
Student Type
?
Institution Type
Prior GPA
ß .14
Graduation Status(1 Dropped 2 Enrolled 3
Graduated)
ß .05
1st Term Credits
ß -.07
Age
ß .51
?
ß .03
Enrollment Status
Student Type
Institution Type
20
Results What role does type of transfer
institution play in the model?
Prior GPA
ß .05
Enrollment Status(1 Dropped 2 Stopped 3
Enrolled)
ß .35
1st Term Credits
ß .05
Age
ß -.09
Student Type
ß .06
Institution Type
Prior GPA
ß .14
Graduation Status(1 Dropped 2 Enrolled 3
Graduated)
ß .05
1st Term Credits
ß -.07
Age
ß .51
ß .02
ß .02
Enrollment Status
Student Type
Institution Type
21
Result Summary

• More transfer than native students drop out
  during the sophomore year fewer persist
• Fewer transfer than native students graduate
  within five years
• Most students who stop out during the sophomore
  year will drop within five years
• (Slightly higher incidence of this pattern for
  transfers)

22
Result Summary (contd)

• Beyond differences in academic preparation, and
  credit hours, transfer students are less likely
  than native students to persist during the
  sophomore year
• If transfer students persist beyond the sophomore
  year, they are as likely as native students to
  graduate within five years

23
Result Summary (contd)

• Transfer students coming from 2-yr institutions
  are more likely than those from 4-yr institutions
  to persist in the sophomore year
• Transfer students who persist beyond the
  sophomore year have the same likelihood of
  graduating regardless of the type of institution
  from which they came.

24
Implications

• Critical period for transfer students is their
  first year after transferring
• Students with less academic preparation and
  taking fewer credit hours are more at risk of
  attrition
• Students transferring from 4-yr institutions vs.
  2-yr institutions
• Efforts to improve articulation e.g.,
  co-admission program, offering PSU courses and
  PSU advising on comm. coll. Campuses successful?
• Differing circumstances leading to transfer to
  PSU?
• Stop and drop out students have a chance (albeit
  slight) of graduating or continuing to enroll 5
  yrs laterconsider a program of intervention?