The Fractured STEM Pipeline: The Complicity of Four-Year Universities in the Transfer Penalty

• In Event: 52.043 - STEM Student Success: From Transfer to Baccalaureate Completion

Abstract

Students who transfer between institutions of higher education often experience a transfer penalty or a decrease in the odds of degree completion. Using a qualitative frame, this study examined how community college students experienced the transfer process and the transfer penalty. Particular emphasis was placed on how institutional policies and practices at four-year institutions contributed to the transfer penalty and poorer attainment rates of this population. Themes pertaining to inadequate advisement, curricular differences between two and four-year institutions, and lacking support were prevalent. Results show that transfer institution norms, policies, and procedures were directly associated with community college transfer students’ academic outcomes and commitment to remaining in a STEM major. Implications for future research and academic policies and interventions are discussed.

Authors

• Diane Cardenas Elliott, Immaculata University

• Joni M. Lakin, Auburn University