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The State of California, which has the largest four-year public university system in the United States, does not have an associate degree for transfer (ADT) in Engineering. Therefore, most engineering students who transfer from community colleges do not take lower-division engineering courses and, on average, transfer students must attend two to three additional years of college to obtain a degree at four-year institutions. To identify the gaps in engineering education for transfer students and to increase their success, the research team will focus on a “transfer-ready” curriculum and a faculty learning community. The BRIDGE team, including three partnering institutions, collaborates on identifying the critical success factors (CSFs) for the transfer student’s success, the development of the transfer pathway program, and the Engineering BRIDGE Program to enhance academic preparations for transfer students. This paper summarizes the findings from the Engineering BRIDGE Program during the Summer of 2023 from August 7 - 11, 2023 (five days). A total of 22 incoming transfer students (to Civil Engineering and Mechanical Engineering) participated in this program, assisting in the transition and ensuring academic/career success by enhancing transfer students’ sense of belonging, and addressing course content gaps between institutions. From the analysis of the pre-/post-surveys of the Engineering BRIDGE Program, the program significantly improved—in terms of transfer readiness—students’ conceptual understanding, technical communication, and higher-order cognition.
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This content will become publicly available on April 16, 2026
Cultivating a Transfer-Receptive Culture: Exploring the Figured World of STEM Transfer Students in a Community College-to-Four-Year Bridge Program
This study examines the experiences of STEM aspiring community college transfer students engaged in a STEM Bridge program, designed to address critical barriers in transfer pathways, including financial challenges, poor communication of transfer policies, and institutional challenges that result from ineffective partnerships between community colleges and four year institutions. Aimed at creating a transfer-receptive culture, the STEM Bridge program also provides pre- and post-transfer support to participants in order to mitigate transfer shock and promote success in STEM degrees. We use focus groups conducted with STEM Bridge participants on a longitudinal basis from pre-transfer through to graduation to investigate (1) how STEM transfer students narrate their transition into and experience in a four-year institution and (2) how their experiences conform to or resist perceived institutional messaging students report about what is required to succeed in STEM. This study employs an adapted ethnographic approach to analyze narratives. Notable findings include the impact of perceived instructional quality and care by professors, navigational support by advisors and mentors, and emotional support by social networks. We conclude by recommending that four-year institutions recognize the critical role socio-academic integration has in cultivating transfer receptivity and supporting academic success for community college transfer students.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1930455
- PAR ID:
- 10650833
- Publisher / Repository:
- Research in Higher Education
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Research in Higher Education
- Volume:
- 66
- Issue:
- 8
- ISSN:
- 0361-0365
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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