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A New Model for Transfer Student Success at Four-Year Institutions

Many young adults start their higher education journey at a local community college, with the plan of eventually transferring to a four-year institution. But too often, financial, academic and social barriers get in the way, and these students never have the chance to realize their goals. They end up cutting their college experience short and entering the workforce without a bachelor’s degree and with limited economic mobility.

It’s an all-too-common scenario in a nation that enrolled 7 million degree-seeking students in community colleges in 2020-21 (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2022). Many students choose this route due to the financial and geographic benefits of getting some credits under their belt at a school close to home. According to the Community College Research Center (2022), about 80% of them have a plan to eventually pack up and head to a four-year institution. Unfortunately, only 31% actually do.

It’s an even worse scenario in National Louis University’s (NLU) hometown of Chicago, where only 10 to 16% of students enrolled in two-year colleges successfully transfer to another institution (City Colleges of Chicago - Facts & Statistics, n.d.). Among Chicago Public Schools (CPS) graduates who immediately enroll in a two-year institution, only 7% end up earning a bachelor’s degree within six years (Nagaoka et al., 2020). In fact, bachelor’s degree completion rates are low among all students who transfer to four-year institutions, with lower-income students nearly half as likely as their higher-income peers to attain a degree within six years (Jenkins, 2021).

Of course, the pandemic only made things more complicated for community college students seeking a realistic path to four-year institutions. According to a recent report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, transfer enrollment from two-year colleges to bachelor’s degree programs continued to decline during the last academic year (2021), following an already steep decline the previous year.

So it would appear that vast numbers of would-be transfer students are being left behind, and many of the institutions that serve them – or could potentially serve them – are failing in their efforts to be more accessible and reach a broader, diverse population of learners.

This is an issue that matters greatly to our university, NLU, where our mission is centered around being “an inclusive, innovative community providing educational opportunities that inspire and empower all learners as they prepare for and advance in meaningful lives and productive careers.” A commitment to inclusion drives everything we do.

That’s why in fall 2020, we established our Transfer Strategy Action Team to take a close look at the disheartening trends and the history of inequity that have been part of the higher education landscape for far too long. The team’s initial analysis and findings gave us the motivation and direction we needed to begin the process of creating a more transfer-ready culture to welcome more community college associate’s degree completers to NLU.

We already had a successful undergraduate model in place. But we began to dismantle, piece by piece, any remaining barriers that made bachelor’s degree attainment a challenge for transfer students. In fall 2021, we launched a new undergraduate college-to-career initiative called Direct to Success (D2S). The program enables community college graduates from partner schools to easily transfer to NLU, earn their bachelor's degrees and jumpstart their careers.

We’re proud of the progress that D2S has made in a relatively short amount of time, with 135% growth in our new transfer student population in just one year. We believe the program can be a model for other institutions, and we’re eager to share key learnings we’ve picked up along the way.

Why transfer student outcomes matter

But first, it’s important to identify why this work matters. Why should higher education institutions spend resources – which are more limited than ever – on initiatives that target transfer student success?

First, there are the benefits to our institutions, as we all fight to stay viable in a challenging higher education landscape. We already know that students choose a variety of paths toward achieving degrees. And, especially with the pandemic and economic crisis of the past two and half years, it’s important for students to have the option of beginning their journey at a community college. If we don’t address the barriers they face in transitioning to our four-year institutions, we will continue to lose millions of potential transfer students each year – either because they never make it to us in the first place, or because they end up dropping out.

More importantly, finding ways to better serve a wider base of students is, simply, the right thing to do. Our institutions are vital to our local communities, as well as the country, and we have a responsibility to provide educational opportunities and systems that don’t ignore the unique needs of an entire segment of the population.

This segment is often made up of students from under-resourced communities who have been historically excluded from college. Higher education had its share of issues with equity before the pandemic, and it’s even worse now. We need to get serious about developing better supports for underestimated populations. Focusing on transfer students is a great place to start.

It is important to remember the potential personal financial loss that a student could experience if forced to forgo their plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree. In many cases, the lack of a degree can result in a struggle to secure meaningful employment throughout a lifetime. One recent study clearly illustrates the impact on economic mobility, indicating there’s a $20,000 annual earnings gap and $800,000 lifetime earnings gap between students who earn an associate’s degree versus those who earn a bachelor’s (Carnevale, Cheah, & Wenzinger, 2021).

So when NLU began taking a closer look at the barriers facing community college transfer students, it was immediately obvious that this issue warranted our full attention. We already had some solid processes and supports in place, but we knew we could do even better.

The NLU Model: Direct to Success

D2S is a career-focused, affordable and supportive degree pathway for transfer students from the community colleges that have partnered with us – more than 30 community colleges (and growing). Students from these schools who are interested in any of our 16 bachelor’s degrees can apply to NLU and be part of the program for the remainder of their undergraduate time, ensuring a seamless transfer experience, as well as continued support as they persist toward earning their bachelor’s degree and securing a major-aligned, sustainable career.

We designed the program after conducting extensive industry research and soliciting input from students, faculty, staff and community college partners. This process helped us determine the six most problematic barriers to student success and design solutions targeting each of them:

  • Value: Affordability is critical, as student concerns about how to pay for a four-year institution are a common barrier to successful transfer (Barshay, 2020). Thus, students who transfer to NLU with an associate’s degree from one of our partner schools will be guaranteed junior standing and will receive a Direct to Success scholarship, which provides a 25% tuition discount. This scholarship makes NLU a uniquely affordable university for Chicago-area transfer students at approximately $15K per year for a full-time student, and that’s before applying federal and state grant aid, which can reduce the out-of-pocket cost to approximately $2K per year for students from under-resourced families. To be eligible, students must apply to NLU within one year of graduation from their community college program. This policy was implemented to encourage students’ continued educational momentum on the path toward their desired degree completion and career goals.
  • Transfer Credit Acceptance and Seamless Transfer Experience: Earned community college credits not fully transferring to the four-year institution, as well as complicated transfer processes, are additional common reasons for the broken transfer pipeline (Jenkins & Fink, 2015). Therefore, another key aspect of our value proposition is that we partner with community colleges and students to make sure the hard-earned credits students have already worked for can count toward their degree, so that they don’t lose any time on their path to graduation. All bona fide college level courses from our partner schools, appropriate to the program to be pursued, may be applied toward National Louis University’s undergraduate degree program so long as the student received a grade of “C” in each course and cumulative GPA of 2.0/4.0. Additionally, by providing NLU Enrollment and Transfer Specialists for community college students before they even begin the transfer process, we alleviate confusion with a one-stop NLU support system, set up a clear transfer process and give students a path to success from day one.
  • Convenient, Predictable, Flexible Schedule: Our schedules are tailored to meet the varied needs of adult students who are often balancing full-time work and/or family responsibilities with college (Barshay, 2020). Students have the option of taking classes full- or part-time, daytime or evening and in person or online. Success Advisors work with their students to set schedules that suit individual needs, with the goal of graduating within three years – we encourage full-time enrollment to enable graduating within two years, but we also recognize our students’ competing life demands and thus support students with part-time schedules to graduate within three years. This flexibility is essential for being transfer-friendly. And again, guidance from advisors is necessary to prevent isolation and reaffirm students that they’re on the right path.
  • Career Acceleration: Everything we do lays the groundwork for a future career because work outcomes are the main reason most people choose to pursue higher education (Strada Education Network & Gallup, 2018). To help students accelerate toward their professional goals, the university requires credit-bearing career development courses as part of every bachelor’s degree major pathway, wherein students will explore their career interests, build their resume, cover letter and LinkedIn profile, and practice networking and interviewing. Every student must also complete a career-related field experience as part of these requirements, because research shows that internship participation enhances a student’s ability to achieve post-graduation employment outcomes (Townsley et al., 2017). As our undergraduates approach graduation, our unique Career Bridge department helps each student foster workforce connections and opportunities, and we provide informational and recruiting events so students can extend their network and build their post-graduation career plan. Dedicated career advisors for each industry also support students one-on-one with securing internships and jobs. This integrated approach ensures that students step into a fulfilling job upon graduation – our ultimate measure of student success at NLU – whether they’re in communications, criminal justice, social work, elementary education or any of our other customizable, career-focused undergraduate programs.
  • Support to Succeed: Making the transition to a bachelor's degree program can be difficult, especially when students are juggling other demands like jobs and families. That’s why we’ve structured a co-curricular third-year experience that ensures a smooth transition to NLU, including professional and leadership development, civic engagement and social connection opportunities. Furthermore, small class sizes, active learning environments, and personal attention from expert faculty, alongside wraparound services such emergency funds, mental health counseling and a food pantry, support students to persist toward their college and career goals. In addition, our academic and student support services offer daytime, evening and virtual hours. We make sure no one falls through the cracks.
  • Inclusive Community: Because we know that disenfranchisement is a key barrier to transfer student success, we work hard to offer a community that is dedicated to social belonging, racial equity and empowerment of student voice through engagement. Our students come from a wide range of backgrounds, and that diverse community helps make NLU a one-of-a-kind destination for transfer students. And as we continue to grow our university and support systems, we’re making sure our administration, faculty and staff reflect that diverse and inclusive student community. Our programs are also designed to be transfer-friendly rather than accommodating only full-time, day-time students. With more than half of our undergraduate student body being adult and transfer students, our goal is to enable the best possible balance between work and family with school – and for students to feel confident and supported in navigating that balance.

Results for the traditionally underserved

D2S is a blueprint for providing a better educational experience and opening up a world of new opportunities for students who have traditionally been unseen and under-resourced. And while the program is relatively new, we have qualitative and quantitative data indicating that it is increasing access and success for transfer students.

Our partner schools, like Triton College, have told us that D2S is giving their students access to a university that they might not otherwise be able to attend. They cite the coaching and advising support, as well as the financial incentive, as a formula for a successful transfer experience. Our colleagues at City Colleges of Chicago – the largest community college system in Illinois – say that D2S is the type of partnership and scholarship program that community colleges should aspire to create with all of their university partners in order to best serve transfer students.

We also hear positive feedback from students who have benefitted from the program, like Lesly Hernandez, who is currently in her final year at NLU, set to graduate in December 2022 with a degree in Applied Behavioral Sciences. She says she received a great deal of personalized support from her NLU transfer specialist initially and then from her advisor. Lesly has a full-time job so she is extremely appreciative of the flexible scheduling, and she also points to the diverse and welcoming environment of both students and faculty as a big plus.

Another inaugural D2S student said, “This is a school that cares about people with jobs such as myself; other universities made it nearly impossible for a student who is working full time trying to survive. I am glad I made [the decision for] NLU to be my school.”

These students feel they have really found their place at NLU, thanks to the guidance and opportunities made possible by D2S.

But perhaps the greatest indicator of the success of the program is the growth we’ve seen in our transfer student body. Thanks to D2S, our community college transfer enrollment has grown by 135% over the past year – we’ve gone from under 120 to nearly 300 new students, far exceeding our initial goal of 150.

There has been tremendous growth in the number of students coming our way from individual community colleges within Chicago and across Illinois. And we continue to push to grow enrollment around the central and western areas of Illinois by working to build strong partnerships for students in these more rural areas to complete their degrees remotely.

It’s also worth noting that D2S participants are excelling academically. At the end of the spring 2022 term, the average D2S GPA was 3.29. As we see nationwide, encouraging students at our partner community colleges to complete an associate’s degree prior to attending a four-year institution increases the likelihood of long-term success (Doyle, 2006; Rosenbaum & Deil-Mamwn, 2003; 2006). And the support and flexibility provided by D2S are also likely factors in student performance. Moreover, in 2022, prior to any D2S cohorts graduating, the percent of community college students earning their bachelor’s degree within four years of transferring to NLU was 74% - higher than national benchmarks of 43% - and we expect this completion rate to rise as we see the positive impact of the D2S support model (Jenkins & Fink, 2021).

At NLU, we’ve long been proud of our ability to maintain an affordable undergraduate sticker price, especially during this time of skyrocketing higher education costs. With the help of merit-based financial aid, as well as federal grants, we ensure that the majority of our students, including transfers, can graduate and become employed with little to no debt from student loans.

And now we’re also pleased with our success in removing long-standing barriers and building up our community college transfer student pipeline so that more people can obtain bachelor’s degrees and sustainable employment.

Through D2S, our vision is to become the top broad-access, four-year institution for local community college transfer students by 2025, growing from 200-300 direct transfers served annually to more than 1,000. It’s a lofty goal. But given the way the program has quickly taken off, we believe we can surpass industry norms around degree completion and job attainment for transfer students, thus changing the career and life trajectories for these individuals and benefitting their communities.

We invite other leaders to join us on this rewarding journey of removing barriers and increasing higher education access and inclusion for all.

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