Are Community College Transfer Students “a Good Bet” for 4-Year Admissions? Comparing Academic and Labor-Market Outcomes Between Transfer and Native 4-Year College Students

2018/02/28 by Di Xu, Shanna Smith Jaggars, Jeffrey Fletcher +2 · 9 citations
Social Sciences · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · #Higher Education Research Studies #Labor market dynamics and wage inequality #Global Educational Reforms and Inequalities

paper · doi:10.1080/00221546.2018.1434280

Abstract

Using detailed administrative data from Virginia, this paper examines whether community college “vertical transfer” students who resemble “native four-year” students in their accumulated college-level credits and performance at their point of entry into the four-year sector perform equally well in terms of both academic and labor market outcomes. We compare matching strategies typically used in existing literature to one where we match vertical transfer and native four-year students based on prior credits earned, accumulative GPA, and the destination four-year institution, and find substantial differences in estimates based on different matching strategies. We also examine potential mechanisms underlying vertical transfer students’ relative performance at the four-year institution and in the labor market. The results show that vertical transfer students’ probability of baccalaureate attainment is comparable to that of similar native students attending the same four-year institution. However, when considering their earnings eight years after initial college enrollment, vertical transfer students experience a significant and nontrivial earnings penalty. Subsequent analyses examining possible mechanisms suggest the earning decrement is partly due to a delayed entry into the labor market as a result of credit loss at the point of transfer.

Citations

• Transfer Shock

Cited by

• The Costs of Time: Examining the Extent of the Credit Loss Penalty in College Transfer
• Building Transfer Student Interest in Computer Science PhDs: Examining an Advising Intervention Using a Staged Innovation Design
• Factors Affecting Direct and Transfer Entrants' Active Coping and Satisfaction with the University. [europepmc]
• A Qualitative Exploration on the Challenges of Transfer Students in an Asian Educational Context. [europepmc]
• "Like a Freshman Who Didn't Get a Freshman Orientation": How Transfer Student Capital, Social Support, and Self-Efficacy Intertwine in the Transfer Student Experience. [europepmc]
• University Staff's Perceptions of Community College Transfer Students' Transition Experiences Within a "2+2" Pathway in an Asian Educational Context. [europepmc]
• Heading in the Right Direction? Examining the Relationship of Transfer Patterns and Income Status on College Student Outcomes. [europepmc]
• How Political and Ecological Contexts Shape Community College Transfer. [europepmc]
• Unlocking student potential through engagement: exploring the learning outcomes and career intentions of medical students transferring from junior colleges to undergraduate universities in China. [europepmc]

Related

• The Costs of Time: Examining the Extent of the Credit Loss Penalty in College Transfer
• Tracking Vertical Transfer Students’ Credits: Changes in Applicability to Degree Requirements
• Diverted to What? The Impact of Community College Attendance on Mid-Career Occupational Characteristics and Wages
• The Returns to College Admission for Academically Marginal Students
• The Transfer Student Experience: It's A Lot Like Buying a Used Car