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Jo StewartBrock University
Background• Investigate concerns that transfer students from community
colleges or other universities may be disadvantaged.•Transfer credits for introductory-level Social Science courses
from community college are not typically given at Brock.•This means that all transfer students captured in intro
courses.
Jo Stewart (jo.stewart@brocku.ca)
Background
•All transfer students in all 2008-09 full-year (September to April) introductory courses were identified.
Jo Stewart (jo.stewart@brocku.ca)
Transfer Students Defined
•Transfer students defined as anyone who had
received at least 0.5 transfer credit from
another post-secondary institution.
Jo Stewart (jo.stewart@brocku.ca)
Research Question?
•Do community college transfer students and
university transfer students perform as well as those
entering from high school in introductory-level Social
Science courses?
Jo Stewart (jo.stewart@brocku.ca)
Measures•Course withdrawal
•First-term failing grades
•Final grades
• Improvement from first- to second-term
Jo Stewart (jo.stewart@brocku.ca)
Data•3,636 students enrolled in 11 intro courses
•5,640 student-courses
•261 community college transfer students
•346 student-courses
•92 university transfer students
•119 student-courses
Jo Stewart (jo.stewart@brocku.ca)
Characteristics of Students
Gender Non-Transfer
Transfer from College
Transfer from University
Male 37.23 37.04 44.57
Female 62.77 62.96 55.43
Percentage of Students:
Jo Stewart (jo.stewart@brocku.ca)
Characteristics of Students
Faculty Non-TransferTransfer from
CollegeTransfer from
University
Applied Health Sciences
15.9 18.52 9.78
Business 2.52 2.31 1.09
Combined Major 0.51 0 1.09
Education 6.07 1.39a 2.17
General Studies 10.34 9.72 20.65a
Humanities 14.36 11.57 14.13
Mathematics and Science
2.55 2.78 7.61a
Social Sciences 30.47 40.74a 33.7
Undeclared 17.28 12.96 9.78b
Percentage of Students:
a p<.01; b b<.10
Course Non-TransferTransfer from
CollegeTransfer from
University
Child and Youth Studies 10.67 13.01 10.08
Communication Studies 5.51 4.05 7.56
Film Studies 6.42 4.34 8.4
Human Geography 8.48 6.94 14.29a
Physical Geography 8.19 9.54 12.61b
Labour Studies 2.55 2.02 1.68
Popular Culture 3.25 2.31 0.84
Political Science 8.25 5.49b 6.72
Psychology 21.95 24.28 15.97
Sociology 19.94 21.97 13.45b
Women’s Studies 4.79 6.07 8.40 b
Percentage of Student-Courses
a p<.05, b p<.10
Characteristics of Students
Results
Variable Non-TransferTransfer from
CollegeTransfer from
UniversityFinal Course Grade
63.99 64.95 66.56b
Withdrew 0.0812 0.078 0.0756Failed First Term
0.2162 0.1965 0.1513b
Improved 12.63 16.79a 8.31
Means of the dependent variables
a p<.01; b p<.10
Variable Non-TransferTransfer from
CollegeTransfer from
UniversityFinal Course Grade
63.99 64.95 66.56b
Withdrew 0.0812 0.078 0.0756Failed First Term
0.2162 0.1965 0.1513b
Improved 12.63 16.79a 8.31
Means of the dependent variables
a p<.01; b p<.10
Results
•Community college students do not differ from high-school entry students on:
•Final course grade
•Likelihood of withdrawal
•Receiving a failing grade in term one
•Results are robust when controls for gender, course, faculty and previous credits are in place.
Jo Stewart (jo.stewart@brocku.ca)
Results
Variable Non-TransferTransfer from
CollegeTransfer from
UniversityFinal Course Grade
63.99 64.95 66.56b
Withdrew 0.0812 0.078 0.0756Failed First Term
0.2162 0.1965 0.1513b
Improved 12.63 16.79a 8.31
Means of the dependent variables
a p<.01; b p<.10
Results
• Among those students who failed the first term:
college transfer students improved by more than those of non-transfer students in the second term.
Jo Stewart (jo.stewart@brocku.ca)
Results
Variable Non-TransferTransfer from
CollegeTransfer from
UniversityFinal Course Grade
63.99 64.95 66.56b
Withdrew 0.0812 0.078 0.0756Failed First Term
0.2162 0.1965 0.1513b
Improved 12.63 16.79a 8.31
Means of the dependent variables
a p<.01; b p<.10
Results
•University transfer students received higher final grades and were less likely to have failed the first term of their courses than both other groups.
Jo Stewart (jo.stewart@brocku.ca)
Results
•Students with a declared major had higher final grades than General Studies or Undeclared students.
• Indirect evidence for “transfer shock”: • Community college students must attain a minimum 75% (B) average at
the college yet the average final grade for college transfer students at the university was 65%, indicating a drop of ten marks.
Other Results
Jo Stewart (jo.stewart@brocku.ca)
Implications•Finding: College transfer students with failing first term grades
showed greater improvement from mid-term to final grade.
•Community college transfer students have the ability to succeed at university.
•Would a bridging course avoid first-term failures?
Jo Stewart (jo.stewart@brocku.ca)
•Finding: Community college students succeed at university.
•Resources allocated by universities to community college transfer students will be well-spent.
•Support may allow students to reach their academic potential earlier.
Implications
Jo Stewart (jo.stewart@brocku.ca)
•Finding: University students had higher final grades and were less likely to fail at midterm.
•University students may use previous experiences to outperform their peers.
Implications
Jo Stewart (jo.stewart@brocku.ca)
•Finding: Community college transfer students showed no differences from other students in final grades or withdrawal rates.
•College to university transfers should continue to be encouraged.
Implications
Jo Stewart (jo.stewart@brocku.ca)
•Universities that implement policies and programs that facilitate transfer from community college to university will be recruiting a student group that is prepared to succeed with university-level coursework.
Implications
Jo Stewart (jo.stewart@brocku.ca)
Policies and Programs•Programs to encourage transfer from community college to university could include:
• Bridging courses
• Assistance with major exploration
• Academic advising
• Student development/learning skills workshops
• Collaboration with colleges to offer preparation programs
• Etc.
Jo Stewart (jo.stewart@brocku.ca)
Acknowledgements•Felice Martinello for his assistance with data collection and
analysis.
•Shelagh Towson for her valuable feedback.
•Dean Tom Dunk, Faculty of Social Sciences for his support.
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