Sustaining Momentum: A Network to Strengthen Transfer Pathways in STEM by Jingjing Liu

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in promoting technology innovation and national wellbeing. During the last years, there is an increase in advocacy among statewide policymakers for STEM education. For example, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam established the STEM Education Commission to “develop a robust set of recommendations to make STEM education in the Commonwealth more inclusive, accessible and collaborative” (Virginia STEM Education Commission, 2020, p. 1). In support of the STEM Education Commission, Virginia public universities’ scholars and leaders collaboratively worked for a foundational data-based document to inform a statewide STEM network (Byers et al., 2020). A broad base of policy awareness and involvement can influence policy formulation and promising educational practice. As community colleges play a potential role in producing STEM degrees and professionals (Bahr et al., 2017), campus leaders should examine the transfer policy to promote a streamlined and efficient pathway for transfer students.

Traditionally, transfer students move between and among different types of higher education institutions, especially from a two-year community college to a four-year campus (Miller & Hillis, 2006). The vertical pathway in which students transfer from a two-year to four-year college usually represents an ideal route from the institutional perspective (Taylor & Jain, 2017). It contributes to increasing the number of students who complete bachelor’s degrees and become professionals in the workforce. Nearly 1.1 million students enroll at two-year institutions each year, and about 80% indicate their goal is to transfer and earn a bachelor’s degree (Jenkins & Fink, 2016). Noticeably, the newest National Student Clearinghouse Report (2021) shows that vertical transfer was the only transfer pathway to increase this spring compared with reverse transfer (students transfer from four-year to two-year institutions) and lateral transfer (students move between two-year institutions or between four-year institutions). This phenomenon raises campus leaders’ attention to identify ways to support community college students who intend to transfer. In community colleges, not all transfer-intending students successfully achieve their educational goals of transferring into four-year institutions for a bachelor’s degree. They are experiencing barriers in finance, curriculum, teaching, learning, and advising that affect their momentum to achieve their transfer aspirations and move to four-year universities (Wang, 2020). More concerning, only 30% of students succeed in transferring from a two-year community college to a four-year institution (Barshay, 2020). To overcome existing barriers to transfer, community college and university has developed partnerships that intended to create and sustain effective practice for supporting transfer students’ goals and aspirations (Kisker, 2007).

The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented educational challenges, community colleges leaders have a heightened need for broadening partnerships and expanding resources to support transfer students. The challenging situation drives community colleges leaders to rethink how to enhance collaborative partnerships to help students achieve successful transfer. To respond to this need, I recommend the following action items as suggestions for community colleges leaders to build a network to strengthen the STEM transfer pathways and support students achieve their transfer aspirations.

Immediate Action for Community College Leaders

• Frame STEM transfer student success: To facilitate building a network and motivating institutions to collaborate, community college leaders should realize how they help people make sense of what is going on matters in getting people to buy in on change (Eddy & Kirby, 2020). Language is crucial to sensemaking that impacts people’s action on campus. The state transfer documents, reports, and scholars’ recently published work on STEM transfer students are good references to helps campus leaders form a shared language on the meaning of STEM transfer student success and collaboration in promoting a smooth transfer pathway.

• Open multiple communication channels on campus: Information gathering and sharing play a critical role in the institutional success (Eddy & Kirby, 2020). Through multiple channels, leaders widen access to get the input from campus-wide stakeholders on reducing barriers affecting STEM transfer students and bring the joint effort to improve transfer practices. For example, in addition to face-to-face conversations, district and school website, mobile app, notification and alerts, email, social media, and video are key digital community channels (Williams, 2020). To utilize these multiple channels, a first step is to create a campus community plan (Eddy & Kirby, 2020), which helps leaders make preparation, exchange information, and achieve effective communication.

Longer-Term Action for Community College Leaders

• Cultivate a campus climate with access, inclusion, and equity: Campus climate affects individual and groups behaviors. To achieve an equity mindset, leaders must engage people in continuous improvement practices, reflections, and disaggregating data (Eddy & Kirby, 2020). Respecting campus members’ perspectives and providing training for people to learn equity-minded initiatives can help leaders improve campus climate on STEM transfer practices.
• Commit to sustainable partnerships: Transfer partnerships are critical to support community college transfer function and enhance baccalaureate attainment (Kisker, 2007). The sustainable partnerships contribute to streamlined transfer pathways and mutual benefits for community colleges and universities to support STEM transfer students.
• Develop an evaluation plan: Considering outcomes of evaluation should be specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic, and timed (Kellogg, 2004), leaders should identify progress indicators, such as STEM transfer rate, transfer grant, and transfer student services, to determine whether inequities and inefficient issues in STEM transfer pathway are addressed.

Conclusion

Given “the potential contribution of community colleges in resolving the shortage of individuals in the United States who hold baccalaureate (or higher-level) credentials in STEM fields and, moreover, in improving the equitable distribution of such credentials” (Bahr et al., 2017, p. 472), community college leaders need to commit in supporting STEM transfer pathways. The immediate and the longer-term action items provide practical implications for campus leaders to build a network to strengthen the STEM transfer pathways for sustaining students’ momentum toward a successful transfer.

References

Bahr, P. R., Jackson, G., McNaughtan, J., Oster, M., & Gross, J. (2017). Unrealized potential: Community college pathways to STEM baccalaureate degrees. The Journal of Higher Education, 88(3), 430-478. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2016.1257313

Barshay, J. (2020, June 1). Why so few students transfer from community colleges to four-year universities. The Hechinger Report. https://hechingerreport.org/why-so-few-students-transfer-from-community-colleges-to-four-year-universities

Byers, A., Cresawn, K. O., Edmondson, E. W., Jones, R. M., Maeng, J. L., Magliaro, S. G., Newbill, P., Seshaiyer, P., Webb, A. W., & Wheeler, L. B. (2020). Developing a Virginia STEM network. https://soe.vcu.edu/media/school-of-education/pdfs/4-VASTEMNetworkWhitePaper3-6-2020.pdf

Eddy, P. L., & Kirby, E. (2020). Leading for tomorrow: A primer for succeeding in higher education leadership. Rutgers University Press.

Jenkins, P. D., & Fink, J. (2016). Tracking transfer: New measures of institutional and state effectiveness in helping community college students attain bachelor’s degrees. Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University.

Kellogg, W. K. (2004). Using logic models to bring together planning, evaluation, and action: Logic model development guide. Kellogg Foundation.

Kisker, C. B. (2007). Creating and sustaining community college—university transfer partnerships. Community College Review, 34(4), 282-301. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091552107300333

Miller, M. T. & Hillis, S. R. (2006). Transfer students. In L. A. Gohn & G. R. Albin (Eds.), Understanding college student subpopulations: A guide for student affairs professionals (pp. 295-311). NASPA Student Affairs Administrators In Higher Education.

National Student Clearing House Research Center. (2021). COVID-19 transfer, mobility, and progress: First look for spring 2021 report. https://nscresearchcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/Covid19-TransferMobilityProgress-FirstLookSpring2021.pdf

Taylor, J. L., & Jain, D. (2017). The multiple dimensions of transfer: Examining the transfer function in American higher education. Community College Review, 45(4), 273-293. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091552117725177

Virginia STEM Education Commission. (2020). Virginia STEM Education Commission final report. https://www.governor.virginia.gov/media/governorvirginiagov/secretary-of-education/pdf/STEM-plan-with-appendix.pdf

Wang, X. (2020). On my own: The challenge and promise of building equitable STEM transfer pathways. Harvard Education Press.       

Williams, S. (January 9, 2020). 6 Key school communication channels and how to use them. Campus Suite. https://www.campussuite.com/blog/6-key-school-communication-channels-and-how-to-use-them