THE CHALLENGES FOR PERSISTENCE WITH TWO-YEAR COLLEGE STUDENT TRANSFERS IN THE GEOSCIENCES: WHAT ARE THEY AND HOW DO WE OVERCOME THEM?

Two-year colleges (2YCs) play an important role in postsecondary education in the U.S., and are essential in the education and training of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Nearly half of undergraduate college students are enrolled in 2YCs and forty-five percent of first-time freshman use 2YCs as an entry point to a four-year degree, especially those from underrepresented groups (AACC, 2014). As such, 2YCs are a key partner in increasing student access to postsecondary attainment. This is especially true for STEM disciplines such as the geosciences. Over 25% of recent geoscience graduates that participated in the American Geosciences Institute (AGI) Student Exit Survey reported having attended a 2YC for at least one semester (AGI, 2013). Working to improve the effectiveness of the 2YC transfer pathway can have numerous returns for building the geoscience workforce and for the lives of those interested in pursuing geoscience careers.

However, a significant challenge exists with tracking successful 2YC transfers since many do not complete an associate’s degree prior to transfer and there are very few associate’s degrees in geoscience specific categories across the country. As a result, measuring success is difficult. However, from the research we know that a number of factors contribute to lower success for transfer students, both in the 2YCs as well as the receiving institutions. The richness in diversity of students from 2YCs racial, ethnic, cultural identity, socioeconomic background, and age, are also likely to be new to the academic process, and as such have challenges when navigating to a transfer institution. Many underprepared students use 2YCs as an entry point to higher education in need of developmental coursework in reading, writing, and mathematics delaying or preventing advancement into college-level coursework. Upon transfer, practices in the four-year institution may preclude these students from completing their degree. In this talk, we intend to review and critique the current status of research on 2YC students’ transfer pathways and make recommendations for how to best proceed in an effort to support successful degree completion.