Reverse Transfer
Location
SU-217
Start Date
2-5-2025 10:50 AM
Department
Computer Science
Abstract
Across the U.S., 1.9 million students dropped out of college, and 250,000 reverse transferred over a span of two years. In Illinois, the dropout rate among students who reverse transfer (those who first attended 4-year institutions, and before obtaining a degree transferred to community college) is greater than in any other state. According to the most recent Illinois Education Research Council report, among a total of 8,000 reverse transfer students, only 24% transferred back to a four-year and attained a bachelor’s degree. The causes of reverse transfer are not well-defined in the literature. However, they are often personal and unrelated to academics. We hypothesize that reverse transfer students who participate in a structured and programmatic learning environment will report higher rates of social integration, resulting in greater academic self-efficacy. To test this hypothesis, we conducted case study interviews of students in the Engineering Pathways Program (programmatic approach) at Wright College using the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) method. The AI method frames questions in a positive way to highlight strengths and inspire meaningful ideas for improvement, rather than focusing on the negative aspects alone. Using this approach, our preliminary findings from six reverse transfer students highlight the importance of having a sense of belonging in the college environment. In all six interviews, participants highlighted the contrast in environment between community college and their former institutions. Despite facing challenges, they expressed satisfaction with the benefits offered by two-year institutions. These benefits include lower tuition, smaller, more supportive communities, and specific guided pathways. Thus far, our data demonstrates that sense of belonging, and academic support are crucial for students’ success. Our case studies identify factors that could support students aiming to attain a bachelor’s degree. In our future work, we will implement a mixed methods approach. This will include the addition of a survey, and case studies from students outside of the engineering pathways program (non-programmatic approach). This will allow us to combine quantitative and qualitative data to make more generalizable findings.
Faculty Sponsor
Doris Espiritu
Reverse Transfer
SU-217
Across the U.S., 1.9 million students dropped out of college, and 250,000 reverse transferred over a span of two years. In Illinois, the dropout rate among students who reverse transfer (those who first attended 4-year institutions, and before obtaining a degree transferred to community college) is greater than in any other state. According to the most recent Illinois Education Research Council report, among a total of 8,000 reverse transfer students, only 24% transferred back to a four-year and attained a bachelor’s degree. The causes of reverse transfer are not well-defined in the literature. However, they are often personal and unrelated to academics. We hypothesize that reverse transfer students who participate in a structured and programmatic learning environment will report higher rates of social integration, resulting in greater academic self-efficacy. To test this hypothesis, we conducted case study interviews of students in the Engineering Pathways Program (programmatic approach) at Wright College using the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) method. The AI method frames questions in a positive way to highlight strengths and inspire meaningful ideas for improvement, rather than focusing on the negative aspects alone. Using this approach, our preliminary findings from six reverse transfer students highlight the importance of having a sense of belonging in the college environment. In all six interviews, participants highlighted the contrast in environment between community college and their former institutions. Despite facing challenges, they expressed satisfaction with the benefits offered by two-year institutions. These benefits include lower tuition, smaller, more supportive communities, and specific guided pathways. Thus far, our data demonstrates that sense of belonging, and academic support are crucial for students’ success. Our case studies identify factors that could support students aiming to attain a bachelor’s degree. In our future work, we will implement a mixed methods approach. This will include the addition of a survey, and case studies from students outside of the engineering pathways program (non-programmatic approach). This will allow us to combine quantitative and qualitative data to make more generalizable findings.