Inactive Transfer Students: Investigating the Transfer Gaps Within the University of California, Los Angeles, Center for Community College Partnerships SITE Program

• In Event: Roundtable Session 30
  In Roundtable Session: Critical Race Theory and a Transfer-Receptive Culture: Examining the University of California, Los Angeles, Center for Community College Partnerships

Abstract

Since 2001 the Center for Community College Partnerships at UCLA has assisted transfer students with resources and support towards a higher education through various summer intensive programs (Herrera & Jain, 2013). One such program is SITE, a six-day residential program that provides community college students with an intensive pre-transfer experience on UCLA’s campus. Although SITE has been in existence for over a decade, and UCLA is known for its efforts towards a transfer receptive culture (Jain, Herrera, Bernal, & Solórzano, 2011), some students who participate in SITE do not transfer to four-year colleges or universities. As such, students remain idle in the transfer pipeline with little attention and limited evidence investigating why they have not transferred to a university.

By implementing both a critical race theory (CRT) and a transfer receptive culture (TRC) framework, this study exposes the existing gaps of inactive CCCP SITE participants through the transfer pipeline from years 2009-2012. This gap has led me to investigate why student participants in SITE have disengaged from transferring to a four-year university. This particular section of the symposium will focus on the following questions: What impact does participating in transfer programs have on the educational success of transfer students? What can we do to help improve, adapt, and increase the transfer student engagement after such programs?

By using the existing CCCP database both qualitative and quantitative methods have been implemented. For the years between 2009-2012 approximately 381 students have participated in SITE, and of those who were transfer ready and applied to UCLA, nearly 60% have transferred to UCLA. It is important to understand that these transfer numbers demonstrate the multiple years it takes to successfully fulfill a transfer curriculum (Hagedorn et al, 2006). Participants in these programs are first generation, low income and underrepresented students who often start coursework below the transferrable level. In particular, this study explored the reasons behind students being pushed out of the transfer pipeline altogether. Three focus groups were conducted with a total of 12 participants, including a brief informational survey with 50 respondents, along with 5 one-on-one interviews. Students spoke of the support they received through CCCP and SITE, however once they returned to the community college the downturn of the economy and the number of remedial courses it took to reach the transfer curriculum were major deterrents to their progress. In addition, although they enjoyed their time at UCLA, the university still seemed out of reach.

These findings will hopefully assist CCCP and contribute to the existing literature regarding a transfer receptive culture to provide untold stories of students who have disengaged from transferring to a university. This data is critical in informing policy and recreating and re-shifting programs already in place, whose goals are to maximize the transfer of underserviced Students of Color into universities.

Author

• Christine Vega, University of California - Los Angeles