The Missing Link: How Institutional Conditions Impact Transfer Student Capital

• In Event: Transfer Student Success in Higher Education

Abstract

Community colleges play an increasingly important role in students’ higher education experiences. Though many students who enter community colleges intending to transfer to a four-year institution, most fail to do so-nationally, 80% of community college students aspire to transfer and receive a bachelor’s degree, yet less than 35% do so after six years (Jenkins & Fink, 2016). What factors contribute to successful transfer? Using a longitudinal, qualitative study of transfer-intending students in Texas, this paper adds to the literature on factors contributing to transfer student success, specifically transfer student capital (TSC) (Laanan, Starobin, & Eggleston, 2010; Moser, 2013), by examining how institutions hinder or help students in accumulating TSC and how students use their resources to obtain transfer success.

Authors

• Huriya Jabbar, The University of Texas at Austin

• Lauren Schudde, The University of Texas at Austin

• Marisol Garza, The University of Texas at Austin

• Saralyn McKinnon-Crowley, Georgia Institute of Technology