Individual Argument: Transfer Student Transition Process

There are many issues that lead to the overall issue of the achievement gap. The issue I
chose to further research is an underlying issue, the transfer student transition process. The
article I researched on this issue studied twenty-two traditional-aged students transferring from
Iowa community colleges to Iowa State University. These students were interviewed on various
topics including: the reasons why students attended a community college, the elements of the
transfer process, and the academic and social adjustment process of transfer students. These
interviews further lead to understanding the transfer process and then would lead to change that
would raise the GPA, retention, and graduation rates. As universities work towards raising rates
for graduation, retention, and GPA they must turn towards the transfer students transition
process as these students rates are amongst the lowest. An increase in transfer students,
coupled with public pressure to improve retention and graduation rates, calls four-year
institutions to more closely examine the transfer-student experience (Lora Leigh Chrystal). I
acknowledge and reaffirm that issues within students transfer transition process hinders their
learning and, therefore, leads to the overall issue of the achievement gap.
Overall, the transition process for transfer students needs to be enhanced by universities
to make their learning experience much better. One issue was the transfer process itself. Most
students who were just entering the process didnt do so until the last semester of their career at
their designated community college. This being said, the process had a later start from the
beginning, especially since transfer students only start applying for four-year universities in the
spring semester before enrollment in the fall. It is important to keep this in mind as this issue is
discussed further.
Another issue was the transfer of credits. Students were worried and curious of how their
credits earned from the community college would transfer to their degree program at the
university. Some students experienced some credits that would not transfer to the university.
This raises the concern of wasting time and money on a class that would not even be accepted
in the end. One of the participants, Michael, expressed regretting a genetics class that didnt
count for anything. If Id known it wasnt going to count for anything it was a really hard class
(Lora Leigh Chrystal). This, then, raises the notion that community colleges could also be do
things to set their students up for success if they wish to continue their education. Community
colleges could help students better plan out a class schedule that will help them the most when
they arrive at their four-year institution. Although, this can be difficult to do.
The next issue is the distribution/utilization of resources. Universities should make
resources widely available while also emphasizing their importance and students should take
advantage of the resources available to them, thats why theyre there! When students were
completing the transfer process, most of them did so online. They would even learn how to
successfully navigate through the process by accessing answers to questions online. In other
words, they would only use means of internet and not people to complete the process. Some
students would use online resources exclusively and others would reach out to their advisors to
verify information found online. With this being known, online resources should be made to cater
to students needs when trying to find answers to questions and make the process that much
easier, not make it more difficult.
 Next, we discuss the process of adjusting to life on a four-year university. Students
predicted that their academic life would prove to be much more difficult and challenging when
transferring to a four-year university and they were correct. Most predicted, correctly, many
differences between four-year universities and community colleges. This included: size of the
campus, the number of students, and, of course, the more rigorous workload. Due to the
differences between academics, Survey respondents reported experiencing a drop in their GPA
during their first semester at Iowa State (Lora Leigh Chrystal).
Even though students knew their academic life would be harder, none even thought
about the social aspect of transferring to a four-year university. There was quite a bit of stress
that came along with achieving socially in college, which proved to be detrimental in making the
most of the college experience. While succeeding academically was important to students and
played a substantial role in their integration, only those who lived on campus, participated in a
sorority or fraternity, or had a long-term connection with faculty reported a sense of belonging to
the institution (Lora Leigh Chrystal). The transfers who did not have one of these connections
felt they did not belong to the institution. The participants who lived on campus and got involved
with organizations had much more satisfaction with their college experience. Individuals who
chose to live off-campus knew their lack of connection to the campus and had difficulty meeting
new people. Some students who put effort towards signing up for an organization expressed
that sometimes the organizations would not contact them, others attended some meetings but
left because no one would speak to them, and the rest recognized they should have put more
effort towards getting involved. Colleges should put more emphasis on getting involved and
make it apparent to students why getting involved is the best decision to make to get the most
out of their college experience. It is very important to smoothen the transition to a four-year
university.
In conclusion, issues within the transfer student transition process seems to be leading
to the overall issue of the achievement gap. Universities are noticing that transfer students rates
on GPA, retention, and graduation seem to be lower than that of Iowa students who have been
there from the beginning. To fix this problem, the transfer process itself must be enhanced.
More programs should be put into place where students take more transferable classes in
community college, students are aware they have resources available to them to help them
through the process, and these resources should be widely available and easy to access. Social
adjustment must also be addressed. It should be expressed to students that the best way to
enjoy their college experience is to focus on academics while also being involved. These
problems should be addressed in order to enhance the transition process and work towards
closing the overall issue of the achievement gap.

Resource:
Lora Leigh Chrystal, et al. Assessing Students' Transition from Community College to a
Four-Year Institution. Journal of Assessment and Institutional Effectiveness, vol. 3, no. 1, 2013,
pp. 118., www.jstor.org/stable/10.5325/jasseinsteffe.3.1.0001.