In STEM education, many 4-year colleges and universities now get most of their students from community colleges. Students who transfer from community colleges, especially those who are underrepresented, often face problems, such as deciding whether or not to transfer, getting academic and non-academic support during the transfer, and finding a job. Also, program advisors at both 2-year and 4-year colleges and universities face problems because they need to know how their students make transfer decisions and how to help them be successful post-transfer. A data-driven and survey-based study will help establish a solid understanding of the underlying elements contributing to these challenges. In this paper, the researchers first conduct a literature review to identify the critical personal and academic factors that influence the transfer decision, particularly for students from traditionally disadvantaged groups. Secondly, an exploratory analysis of these factors was performed by inviting a small group of computing major students from both community
colleges and universities to participate in a survey that includes a wide range of questions, from demographics and pre-transfer decisions to post-transfer performance. The preliminary findings indicated that financial challenges, university reputation, university location, job prospects, and family expectations are the primary factors influencing student transfer decisions. The findings of the study can be beneficial to underrepresented transfer students, their advisors, and other stakeholders in higher education.
more »
« less
Advising from Community College to University: What It Takes for Underrepresented Transfer Students in STEM to Succeed
Community colleges are increasingly recognized as providing an accessible
and affordable pathway to STEM occupations, particularly for underrepresented racial and ethnic, first-generation, and low-income students. There
are several institutional and academic factors that influence transfer outcomes. But one of the most central factors that can either help students
successfully navigate the two-to-four-year pathway or cause significant roadblocks and cost students considerable delays – is advising. In this study, we
investigate how advising practices at three institutions – two community
colleges and one university – contribute to the success of underrepresented
students on the transfer pathway in STEM disciplines. We conducted interviews with 39 near-transfer or recently transferred students in STEM. Most
students experienced at least some good advising (n = 28); however, 21
students reported poor advising experiences, which in some cases created
undue challenges and barriers. Positive advising experiences contributed to
students’ sense of trust with their advisors, departments, and the institution.
Early positive relationships with advisors also contributed to students being
more likely to seek future help from advisors (including at other institutions);
conversely negative advising relationships contributed to students being
more likely to seek help elsewhere, like from friends or family, and sometimes
giving up and not receiving any help at al
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 1761185
- PAR ID:
- 10327132
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Community college journal of research and practice
- ISSN:
- 1066-8926
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
more » « less
Introduction: While a considerable amount of extant scholarship describes the importance of and strategies for improving the postsecondary pathways of Black engineering students, most literature is contextualized within 4-year institutions.
Objectives: The purpose of this article is to illuminate Black engineering students’ experiences at community colleges in order to understand ways in which they engage different types of 2-year institutional support.
Methods: We draw from data obtained through a series of focus groups and interviews facilitated between fall 2018 and fall 2019 with 13 engineering undergraduates.
Results: Findings include evidence of important connections with faculty at 2-year colleges, such as positive engagement with them inside the classroom, as well as during office hours and general advising. In addition, we describe support from academic advisors regarding transfer pathways, as well as from campus staff who helped identify scholarships or other valuable resources on campus.
Conclusion: We offer implications and conclusions that highlight the tremendous capacity of community colleges to support and educate future Black engineers. We also discuss the significance of underrepresented students of color working closely with faculty, adding that research to date notes that these interactions often tenuous for underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities. Finally, we discuss ways in which our results can inform the broader landscape of undergraduate engineering education, which—like other STEM fields—has often created unwelcoming and competitive environments that lead to student attrition for students from all demographic backgrounds.
-
Currently, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs in community colleges and 4-year institutions are predominantly white spaces that can marginalize underrepresented, racial/ethnic minority students (Kanno & Cromley, 2015; Martin, et al., 2018; Samuelson & Litzler, 2016; Valadez, 2008; Wang, Lee, & Prevost, 2017). Latinx students make up the largest racial/ethnic minority group of college students (Martinez & Deil-Amen, 2015), and they are more likely to begin their postsecondary education paths in community colleges (Arbona & Nora, 2007; Starobin & Bivens, 2014). Many will start at community college in programs that lead to vertical transfer (Martin, et al., 2018). Transferring from a community college to a four-year institution is a difficult process to navigate, especially for racial/ethnic minority students who are likely to have experienced inequitable educational experiences. Institutions seeking to assist them in obtaining baccalaureate degrees must increase these students’ Transfer Student Capital (TSC) (Laanan, Starobin, & Eggleston, 2010). The purpose of this presentation is to show how high schools, community colleges, and four-year institutions can partner together to assist Latinx students in acquiring baccalaureate degrees in STEM fields by increasing their TSC.more » « less
-
Vemu, Sheela (Ed.)Community colleges expand access to higher education and play a key role in efforts to increase and diversify the future science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce. While community colleges increase access to higher education and millions of students attend them for some portion of their education, the experiences of transfer students remain relatively understudied. Transferring during an academic journey can compound the barriers that students already face when pursuing a STEM degree. This study uses Schlossberg’s model for analyzing human adaptation to transition to understand how STEM community college transfer students navigate and adapt to the 4-year university. Five semistructured focus groups were conducted with STEM community college transfer students attending an urban university. Analysis of the focus groups resulted in a new model: the amended model of adaptation to transfer transition, or AMATT, which illustrates various factors that played a role in STEM community college transfer students’ adaptation a university. Analyses illumined two broad pathways that students tend to diverge into during their transitions—thriving or simply surviving. This work provides a framework for understanding factors influencing the transfer process and ideally will inform institutions and students as they consider maximal transfer student success.more » « less
-
Background: Graduate education provides students with specialized skills needed to advance science and discovery and prepares future educators and role models for future generations of learners. Given the importance of graduate education, the estimate that more than half of the students who begin it do not complete their degrees is troubling. Existing scholarship suggests that this substantial attrition from graduate school is in part due to inadequate advising. To address this concern, it is important to examine students’ experiences with graduate advising. Purpose: This article presents a new model—the Model of Wholeness in Graduate Advising (MWGA)—that characterizes a range of students’ advising experiences. In so doing, it encourages faculty to move toward a more caring and wholeness-promoting framework in graduate advising. Research Design: To better understand the complexities of graduate advising and the various types of experiences—and relationships—that students have, desire, expect, and need to thrive both professionally and personally, this study included interviews with 42 Black male graduate students attending historically and predominantly White institutions (HPWIs). Thematic analysis revealed that students’ advising experiences included aspects of “ethics of care” (or degrees of care: whole, partial, empty). Iterative analysis of data led to the creation of the practice-informing model: the Model of Wholeness in Graduate Advising (MWGA). Findings: Although some students described experiencing positive interactions and teachable moments with their advisors, others painted pictures of demoralizing encounters and public shaming practices. Still others described advising experiences they did not have but would want. Accounting for this range, the MWGA denotes an upwardly moving relationship between degrees of care (i.e., empty, partial, whole) and students’ perceptions of their advising experiences and relationships (i.e., weak, basic, strong) in part shaped by students’ expectations for their advising experiences and relationships, and their lived experiences. Conclusions and Recommendations: The findings from this study, represented in the MWGA, illustrate theoretical linkages between students’ expectations of advising, the levels of their advising experiences and relationships, and degrees of care demonstrated by their advisors. Most notably, more elements of care tend to result in better lived advising experiences and relationships. For current and future faculty, moving toward a more caring and wholeness-promoting framework might start with recognizing the needs of students as whole people. Creating more caring advising experiences and developing more caring relationships may better assist students in progressing through degree completion, and doing so more fully whole.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/DOI: 10.1080/10668926.2022.2050842
