How Faculty Members Influence Credit Transfer at Four-Year Institutions: Building Knowledge to Improve Transfer Student Outcomes
Despite state-level policies aimed at easing transfer from community colleges to four-year institutions, many students still lose credits, thereby delaying graduation and increasing costs. In this report, MDRC investigates the role of faculty members’ decision-making on transfer student outcomes at three University of Texas System institutions. While highlighting the complicated processes and perceptions that shape faculty decisions about credit transfer and transfer pathways, the report demonstrates the need for centralized and standardized data collection across institutions. Using rigorous evidence to inform departmental and disciplinary practices and policies could streamline the credit transfer process, thereby removing barriers to credential completion for more transfer students.
