<p>This article reports that college graduation rates may be better than what is reported. Current methodology looks at enrolled freshman to graduation at the same institution.</p>
<p>One-Third</a> of All College Students Transfer Schools - College Bound - Education Week</p>
<p>While there were a few from D1’s class who transferred, no way was it 1/3.</p>
<p>It seems very high to me. I have to beleive it includes CC transfers to 4 year schools. I also wonder if they include kids who take a few classes at another school?</p>
<p>This is in the Chronicle, too. And frankly, I don’t find it shocking at all. For years, I’ve been seeing kids transfer, even back to community colleges from 4 year schools. Sometimes, they’ve bitten off more than they can chew at a 4 year school. Lately, finances have played a bigger role. </p>
<p>In fact, transfers, even multiple transfers, are so common our research office has started reporting a 4 year graduation rate just for students who persist.</p>
<p>Huh, what do you mean, a 4 year graduation rate just for students who persist? You leave out anyone who drops out?</p>
<p>The article says many transfer in their later years. I can see that increasing the numbers as well, starting out at a smaller state school and moving to the flagship to finish a specific program-engineering, physical therapy, etc. If community colleges are included in that, 37% in the second year, it makes perfect sense.</p>
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<p>Yes, that I could believe.</p>
<p>Seems likely that it includes those who start at community college and later transfer to four year schools. Also, some students who start at community college transfer to other community colleges because they move or the courses they want are not all at one community college (this may account for some of the “transfer more than once” students).</p>
<p>Transferring after four years is also believable for students who attended community college part time before transferring to a four year school.</p>
<p>The study specifically states they did NOT include students who matriculated at a two year school and then transferred to a four year (thus UNDERcounting the # of transfers). Apparently the data would include people who started at a two year and did not get an AA before moving on.</p>
<p>^I didn’t want to “register” aka, get a bunch of spam, to see the full study. It doesn’t mention what the parameters are in the article.</p>
<p>As you go up in school quality the number probably goes way down. Wonder about the life outcomes for the mulitple transfer students.</p>
<p>Yeah, I didnt want to register either, and the devil with data is in the details. My DD transferred, but also took classes at a third school to help her meet gened requirements at the school she intends to graduate it. I think she made the right decision by getting credits over the summer (in order to graduate in a total of 4 years), but they might count that as 3 school, 2 transfers.</p>
<p>I also have seen kids “wash-out” at a 4 year school, come home, take classes at a CC, get GPA up, and then transfer to another 4 year school.</p>
<p>I wonder if the online application process has made transfers easier. I know two people IRL very well who transferred, and for both it was a move to a more challenging school, but still I think both are grateful to the school they started out.</p>
<p>The calculated grad rate for students who persist shows you how many of your students who start with you as freshmen graduate in four years, regardless of major changes, dropping to part time for a given number of semesters, starting a program with the intention of exceeding 4 years because of a double major, etc. </p>
<p>It is not a retention rate, nor is it intended to replace one. It simply shows you, as an institution, how well you meet the needs of students who stay. Across the country, 4 year grad rates are dropping considerably. In some majors at some of the state schools in my state, you’re told day one you can’t finish in four 9-month academic years. </p>
<p>And yes, I imagine transfer rates drop with selectivity. So if 1/3 is average, imagine the transfer rate at the low end of the college spectrum.</p>
<p>The methodology was relatively straight forward: they took data from the National Student Clearinghouse which identifies students individually so they could follow their attendance at different schools. One thing that surprised me was the number of students who transferred from a four year school to a two year. The study examined the 2006 cohort through 2011 so cost could have been a big driver for that.</p>
<p>This doesn’t surprise me. I worked in an area where we tracked those kinds of things to compare our program students to others, so I’ve seen those stats before.</p>
<p>I transfered from a decent LAC to a top twenty-five public. My D transfered from a good public to a top LAC. None of those schools can count us in their graduation statistics, though both of us graduated. It’s a definite flaw in the system.</p>
<p>Erin, so going back to my kid. She went to School A. Applied to transfer to School B. Knew she would be short Gened credits for School B, so took summer classes at School C --would she be one of the double transfers?</p>
<p>The report said this - “Fully 30.3 percent of reverse-transfer enrollments [defined as students from 4 year schools transferring to 2 year schools] occurred during a summer term (defined in this study as a term with a beginning date between May 15 and August 14).”</p>
<p>So do kids taking summer classes at a CC count as transfers???</p>
<p>Probably so based on this language:
But IMO the focus was not on multiple transfer students so much as the number/percentage of students that transfer and how it goes in all directions - public/private/two year/four year.</p>
<p>^ What about high school students taking CC classes for high school credit, or students taking courses at several colleges with cross-registration agreements, or students taking courses elsewhere for a gap term (e.g. spring admits, students who were suspended from their main college for a term, students who are dealing with personal/financial/health concerns, etc)? Those all have Clearinghouse records from multiple institutions too, yet I wouldn’t consider them transfer students.</p>
<p>I am fully willing to believe that 1/3 of college graduates have taken courses at more than one institution. I do not believe that 1/3 of all college graduates have sincerely transferred.</p>
<p>1/3 of all college students transfer, not 1/3 of all college graduates transfer.</p>
<p>What percentage of college students graduate?</p>
<p>The clearing house is accurate, it tracks all US college students. Universities use it to check information.</p>
<p>Poet, I think that 1/3 may register at different institutions, but I dont think that always is a transfer – at least by what most people mean by it.</p>