Examining the Role of Transfer Agents in Latino/x Men's Transfer Choices and Success

• In Event: Institutional Agents Impact on Latino Men's Transitions Into and Through Higher Education

Abstract

Community colleges continue to be the main entry point to higher education for men of color, including Latino/x men (Harris & Wood, 2013). Given this reality, it is imperative that we examine the Latino/x transfer pathway to the baccalaureate degree. Extant research has investigated Latina/o/x community college students' transfer college choice process. Bensimon & Dowd (2009) found that Latina/o students are academically eligible to transfer to selective institutions but often decide to transfer to less selective institutions or decide not to transfer at all; they refer to this phenomenon as the “transfer choice gap.” Drawing on in-depth interviews with 56 Latino transfer students in Central Texas, Jabbar et al. (2019) found that family played a pivotal role in shaping students’ college transfer “choice sets.” The Latina/o community college students in their study tapped into their family and peer networks during their college choice process for informational, emotional, and financial support.

To date, research has not exclusively investigated the transfer choice process of Latino/x men who successfully transfer to selective four-year research institutions. To address this gap in the literature, this study draws on the narratives of ten Latino men who successfully gained admission to several selective research institutions. This study draws on the concepts of institutional agents (Stanton-Salazar, 1997) and transfer agents (Bensimon & Dowd, 2009) to investigate Latino men’s college choice process and the institutional actors that helped them through the transfer process. In addition, the study uses elements from a transfer receptive culture framework (Jain et al., 2011) which promotes that institutions of higher education provide outreach and resources that focus on the specific needs of transfer students.

The study found that the Latino men did not initially plan to transfer to selective 4-year institutions and experienced significant academic and personal obstacles (e.g., academic probation, drop-out) that nearly derailed their educational goals. Despite the challenges, all of Latino men came in contact with institutional transfer agents (e.g., faculty, counselors) or participated in transfers readiness programs that believed in their potential to succeed academically, encouraged them to apply to selective institutions, and guided them in the process. The central factors that shaped students’ final college transfer choice included the institution's academic reputation or prestige, proximity to family, cost, and graduate school and career opportunities. Implications for research, theory and practice are presented in this study with a focus on how two-year and four-year institutions can work together to promote a transfer sending and transfer receptive culture (Jain et al., 2011) for Latino/x men.

Author

• Jesse Enriquez, University of California - San Diego
  Presenting Author