Better Together: How Transfer Partnerships Help to Close Equity Gaps

In December, my University of Washington colleagues and I will publish in New Directions for Community Colleges on transfer partnerships designed for more equitable student outcomes. Given the rapid changes we are experiencing each day due to COVID-19, December seems like an eternity. Since the times seem to call for immediate action, I’d like to share important takeaways from our research.

For years we have known baccalaureate completion rates vary markedly by race and income. Researchers for the National Student Clearinghouse report that while almost one in four Asian students and one in five White students complete a bachelor’s degree in up to six years, just one in 10 Latinx students and one in 12 African American students do so. Transfer and baccalaureate rates parallel these findings, highlighting inequities embedded in higher education systems at both the two- and four-year level.

Inequitable baccalaureate attainment experienced by racially minoritized and lower-income students who start at community colleges has short- and long-term impact on earnings and wealth. From 2016 to 2019 we conducted national research on transfer, delving most deeply into understanding how transfer policies and practices impact baccalaureate completion for students moving between community colleges and universities. Our results confirmed inequities in the transfer process that disproportionately impact African American or Latinx students in three states, and we suspect these findings are representative of similar inequities in other states.

These findings are concerning and speak to the importance of reform. Community colleges and universities that form partnerships to close transfer equity gaps shed light on ways to improve transfer. Our research on partnering institutions shows how they work together to create networks, ensure transfer policies and processes are clear and understandable, and advise students on the best ways to navigate their way to completion. Disaggregated data shared by institutional partners is critical to co-creating reforms that enable racially minoritized and lower-income students to progress and complete their baccalaureate degrees. We contend institutions that partner to make these changes will be more able to support transfer students during COVID-19.

Our research also shows how much leadership matters in closing equity gaps. Reforming transfer by strengthening relationships between institutions requires transformative leadership. Envisioning the reform of transfer as vital to increasing access and closing equity gaps is critical to securing faculty and staff engagement in the on-the-ground practices that lead to student success. Leaders who prioritize people, relationships, and funding provide momentum to ensure that improved transfer policies and processes come to fruition. This commitment to more equitable outcomes is clearest when we envision serving populations of students who are hit hardest by COVID-19.

During this tumultuous time, transfer partners can work together to ensure students’ accumulated credits count toward their baccalaureate degrees. They can collaborate to make student-centered decisions, continuously seeking opportunities to retain students to completion of their degrees. Institutions that share faculty and support staff—including transfer advisors, holistic support services, co-located facilities, technologies, and other resources (laboratories, library resources, and so on)—are critically important. Lessons that transfer partners have learned about removing barriers that get in the way of transfer students achieving their goals can be applied to other institutions during COVID-19.

Any college student can become a transfer student during COVID-19. Our research shows students already “swirl” through higher education, moving among colleges and universities in ways that are unrecognized by higher education systems. Moving forward, transfer students who swirl from one school to another may become the norm rather than the exception. As more students navigate college during COVID-19 by electing to attend school closer to home or take online classes at one or more schools (sequentially and simultaneously), higher education must recognize that college attendance is fluid rather than fixed, and that baccalaureates are more necessary than ever before. Looking at unemployment rates that are soaring to levels comparable to or exceeding the Great Depression in some regions of the country, workers who have bachelor’s degrees are keeping their jobs. We saw more stability for bachelor’s degree holders during and after the Great Recession as well. Let’s learn from our most dire crises that baccalaureate completion is important, and make transfer a top priority for reform that leads to more equitable student success.

We invite you to join us for a Twitter chat on Friday, May 15 at 1 p.m. Eastern to learn more about our study of transfer partnerships using the hashtag #CCRIchat.

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