Using Transcript Data to Examine Credit Applicability: Methodological lessons learned

• In Event: Promise Fulfilled? The Transfer of College Credits Earned in High School

Abstract

Objective: This presentation examines methodological challenges and insights related to using transcript data to analyze the transfer of college credits earned in high school. The goal is to inform researchers about the strengths and limitations of administrative data and to offer lessons learned for designing transcript-based research.

Theoretical Framework: This paper uses a pragmatic framework that recognizes transcript records not as objective records, but as institutional artifacts shaped by institutional policy, staff interpretation, and technical constraints. Much of the literature on credit transferability assumes that transcript data provide a complete and comparable record of students’ academic experiences. However some researchers demonstrated how course-level data can illuminate patterns of credit accumulation, transfer, and momentum - but only when researchers attend to how transcripts are structured, labeled, and constrained by the institution’s context (Adelman, 2006; Hagedorn & Kress, 2008; Wang, 2016). Building on this work, we treat transcript data as a rich quantitative source with realistic limitations. By examining how credit earned in high school is labeled, recorded, and applied across institutions, we surface assumptions in transcript-based research and contribute to more transparent, replicable methods for studying dual enrollment and credit mobility.

Methods: This presentation examines transcript data from six postsecondary institutions (three community colleges and three universities) where students first enrolled after high school. We examined transcript fields in collaboration with institutional staff to understand how credits were captured and categorized, when they appeared, and how they were applied. This analysis highlights methodological complexities that arise when comparing course-level data across institutions with varying practices and systems.

Data: We used de-identified transcript datasets from six public institutions participating in a broader study of credit mobility. We reviewed the availability and quality of key variables, including course identifiers, credit source (e.g. AP, dual enrollment from another institution), number of credits awarded, and how credits were applied toward degree requirements.

Results: Our analysis surfaced key limitations in using transcript data to study the transferability of college credit earned in high school. A crosswalk of data availability across institutions revealed substantial variation in how transcript systems capture credit source and application.
Institutions varied widely in whether and how they flagged the source, timing, or application of credits - especially for dual enrollment coursework. At community colleges, transcript data often reflected a binary distinction between internal and external coursework, obscuring credit origin.

Significance: This study highlights critical considerations in how transcript data captures credits earned in high school, challenging assumptions of consistency across institutions. Without attention to institutional context, researchers risk misinterpreting student progress and credit mobility. By discussing these challenges and offering practical insights - such as the importance of understanding how credits are tagged and applied - this work contributes to greater methodological transparency and rigor in transcript-based research. These findings are especially relevant for researchers designing studies that rely on institutional data to assess pathways through and beyond college.

Author

• Holley Nichols, North Carolina State University