Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Transfer Students’ Numerous Path(s) and Time Interval to Baccalaureate Attainment: Focused on Gender Gap in Science and Engineering Field

Understanding the multiple pathways and college completion outcomes of students who transfer from two-year to four-year institutions is of high importance for understanding how students achieve their baccalaureate degrees. The path of baccalaureate attainment is prevalent in the ways students, institutions, and employers see the role of community colleges. These two-year institutions play an important role for length of time it takes students who transfer into four-year institutions and go on to receive baccalaureate degrees, in top fields such as business administration, science and engineering, and psychology. These two-year institutions can provide students with more time to get acquainted with different fields of study and prepare them to declare their major when they transfer to a four-year institution to finish their degree. The opportunity to take different transfer paths to baccalaureate degree attainment can attribute to the rising number of women in the science and engineering field with in the last five years. 

Baccalaureate Attainment: Different post-secondary outcomes for students who transfer from two-year to four-year institutions

There are many different pathways and college completion outcomes for transfer students. Community colleges are playing an increasingly important role in helping students to attain baccalaureate degrees. Going from a two year to a four year institution is a very successful pathway for transfer students, and becoming more popular to the national college completion agenda. The role of a two-year institution in baccalaureate attainment can take on two different identities: transferring from a two-year to a four-year institution with a variety of lower level credits, or transferring with a two-year degree or certificate. According to the National Student Clearing House Research Center, about 56 percent of two-year institution transfer students go on to attain a baccalaureate degree from a four year institution within a total time of six years. While a higher percentage, 72 percent, of those transfer students who completed a degree or certification from the two-year institution went on to receive baccalaureate degrees with in just four years total time. There is an advantage to receiving an associate’s degree, or certification, from a two-year institution when it comes to completion of a baccalaureate degree.

In an interview Miki Brooks, the Assistant Director of the Letters and Sciences Program at the University of Maryland, discusses her experience with transfer students. She discusses specifically how most of the transfer students she works with attain their baccalaureate degrees at a faster rate when they start at the university with a previously attained associate’s degree. We furthered discussed in the interview the advantages to having an associate’s degree. One of the advantages being that with the previously attained associate’s degree or certification transfer students do not need to worry about meting sequential credits specific to the university upon arrival. We discussed that usually these transfer students who come in with an associate’s degree typically graduate in the expected two years with their baccalaureate degree. 


The path to baccalaureate attainment can take on several different identities when broken down by institution destination

There is another way to categorize transfer students on their path degree attainment, by institution destination. Transfer students tend to take the path of two-year to four-year public institution, but sometimes students just transfer from one four-year institution to another. It is shown that 65 percent of students who transfer from a two-year to a four-year public institution attain a baccalaureate degree within a total time of six years between both institutions. Transfer student baccalaureate degree attainment rates decline from here based on institution destination to private, profit, and non-profit four-year institutions, respectively. Taking upwards of six, seven, and even eight plus years to complete. The higher completion rate at four-year public institutions is related to the number of credits students are able to transfer from their two-year institutions, because of previously instated agreements at partner two-year and four-year institutions, varying per state.
Trends show that a higher percentage of male students transfer more often than female students which impacts the length of time in which they attain their baccalaureate degrees

The distribution by gender in the category of transfer students is pretty evenly spread. Transfer students, both men and women, switch schools for variety reasons. However the trend in the last few years is that as transfer students move up the rank in their class standing, i.e freshman to sophomore or sophomore to junior, there tends to be more men transferring than women. This is usually due to the specific sequential nature of most degree programs. People tend to transfer more as they get into their specific major studies and find they do not like the material, versus in the beginning general education credits. The distribution of gender and major is also nearly equal when categorized by major. The top three majors at four year universities being Business Administration, Science/Engineering, and biological sciences. Ms. Brooks discusses her thoughts on the even spread of gender in the three most popular university majors.





Research has shown that the highest percentage of men tend to transfer in their sophomore and junior year, usually between 45-55 percent of males. Versus women who in that stage of their education have a lower transfer rate, between 40-50 percent. As shown in the graph there is a constant higher percentage of males transferring than women no matter what class ranking. The point at which a student transfers in their degree is a variable that determines the time it will take them to attain their degree. When a student transfers in their first two years, whether it be from a two-year institution to a four-year, or one four year to another it is easiest to transfer credits and not lose class rank. However once a student transfer after the sequential nature of the major program has started there is over a 60 percent chance that they will lose credits and lower their previous class ranking. This is why it tends to take transfer students a total of six years between any two institutions to complete their baccalaureate degree. Overall, with a higher rate of males transferring it takes them longer to attain their baccalaureate degrees than it does women. 

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Previous gender gap between males & females in Science and Engineering fields is slowly closing  as two-year institutions provide more opportunities for students

When it comes to gender and STEM vs non-STEM majors there is much bigger spread in the distribution. In the past STEM majors (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) have very typically been male dominated. Men make up more than half of the students earning degrees in the math, science and engineering fields. Although it is true that women make up more than 50 percent of the students pursuing an undergraduate or baccalaureate degree they still remain the minority in the STEM fields.

Research done by the National Science Foundation in 2003 found that women made up less than 20 percent of those earning baccalaureate degrees in sciences such as physics and engineering such as mechanical engineering or aerospace engineering. This trend has been studied as far back as twenty years. In a 2003 research conducted by the NSF finding that as far back as 1998 women made up only 47 percent of those earning mathematics degrees, 46 percent of chemistry degrees, 33 percent of chemical engineering degrees, and 27 percent of computer science degrees. However as the years progress and the accessibility to attending multiple higher education institution has become more common we see that there is a significant increase in the number of women in STEM fields, particularly biological sciences and engineering. This is because with the opportunity to explore more fields of study at a two-year institution before transferring more women are deciding to explore curriculum in STEM fields, for example the biological science degrees. Ms. Brooks discusses how gender in the STEM fields for both transfer and native students is becoming more equivalent than in the past where there has been a high discrepancy with more men in the field than women. 


As more transfer students participate in STEM majors the length in time for baccalaureate attainment increases as compared to transfer students studying arts and humanities degrees

Two-year institutions, community colleges, are being recognized as common pathways for preparing individuals to pursue baccalaureate degrees in STEM majors at four-year universities. As previously discussed it is easier for a transfer student to attain a baccalaureate degree within the typical four years if they enter into their four-year institution with an associate’s degree. The student is more prepared to start study in their major fields and do not have to be held back in rank because of missing lower level courses. However as a transfer student in the STEM fields of study it usually does take longer to attain their baccalaureate degree versus a university native student. 


Ms. Brooks discusses the challenges for her transfer students who pursue a STEM majors to finish their degree in the typical four years. This is due to the intense material involved in science and engineering majors, particularly math courses. It is also due to the strict sequential nature of these degrees. If you haven’t taken a specific math or science as a lower level general education credit you are restricted from moving to upper level courses. So when a student transfers say from a two-year institution or even a different four-year institution if they do not have a class which is equivalent (in lower education credits) then this will put the student behind. It is more typical for a transfer student in the STEM major, regardless of gender, to attain their baccalaureate in six-years. Versus native students who typically receives it in four, or an arts/humanities major (non-STEM) who can receive their degree within four years. 




With two-year institutions offering multiple pathways for students to transfer to four-year institutions more students are earning baccalaureate degrees. Conducted in a 2003 study, 45 percent of first year freshman students will start off at a two-year institution before going on to receive their baccalaureate degrees from a four-year institution. The multiple pathways for transfer students by transfer destination allows flexibility on behalf of the student to be able to decide what course of study they chose before going on to four-year universities. The typical time period for a transfer student to receive their baccalaureate degree is between four and six years, varying with the program of study. In the past it has been the trend that men transfer at a higher rate than women which attributes to the higher percentage of women receiving their baccalaureate degree in a more timely fashion. However the unknown variable that contributes to the length in time it takes a transfer student to receive their degree is which major they are in. The non-STEM or arts and humanities majors take native and transfer students usually four years to receive their baccalaureate degree. However due to the intense material in the STEM major it typically takes a transfer student four to six years to complete. An advantage to the trend of going to two-year institutions before four-year institutions is that a higher percentage of women are receiving their baccalaureate degrees in the STEM fields, particularly sciences and engineering than ever before. These fields were mostly male dominated in the past but with the flexibility in time and material of two-year intuitions more women are pursuing and receiving their baccalaureate in these fields, slowly closing the gender gap in the science and engineering programs. 

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