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The growing number of community college transfer students aspiring to attain a baccalaureate degree increases the importance of understanding their perceptions about mattering at 4-year institutions. The degree to which students believe that they matter to others, they are significant to others, and they are appreciated by others (Rosenberg & McCullough, 1981; Schlossberg, 1989; Schlossberg, Lassalle, & Golec, 1989) is paramount to 4-year institutions retaining and graduating these students. A quantitative study was conducted using the Mattering Scales for Adult Students in Higher Education (MHE) to assess the perceptions community college transfer students have about mattering at a private, 4-year liberal arts institution in five postsecondary domains: administration, advising, peers, multiple roles, and faculty. Two research questions were examined in this study: 1. Do community college transfer students perceive that they matter at a private, 4-year liberal arts institution in five postsecondary domains: administration, advising, peers, multiple roles, and faculty? 2. Are there significant differences in the perceptions of community college transfer students based on demographic factors including age, race/ethnicity, education, gender, employment, dependents, number of dependents, hours worked weekly, hours spent on campus weekly, enrollment status, years at the institution, or major area of study? The participants for this study consisted of 23 respondents from a sample of 31 community college transfer students enrolled during the fall 2015 academic semester. Statistical analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics to describe the participants in the study. Inferential analysis was conducted using independent-samples t-tests to assess the differences in the independent variables in the five postsecondary domains and the students’ perceptions about mattering. The findings from this study revealed that community college transfer students have strong perceptions of mattering in the advising and peers postsecondary domains. Differences were statistically significant for gender, race/ethnicity, age, dependents, employment, enrollment status, and education in at least one of the five postsecondary domains. Implications for this research suggest that institutions that focus on mattering and greater student involvement will be successful in creating campuses where students are motivated to learn, where retention is reduced, and where students are loyal to the institution even after graduation.

The purpose of this study was to determine the motivations and characteristics of returning female students ages 23-50 and to investigate the implications for the community college. Participants in the study were 30 female students ages 23-50, selected from required classes in math and English in a community college in Northeast Tennessee. The participants volunteered to participate in this study. Responses were grouped in three major categories: motivation, characteristics, and implications for the community college. The responses were then analyzed and compared with the information from the literature review. Findings suggested that job-related reasons motivated students to return to college, and these reasons were those that were most acceptable to family and peers. Self-improvement, however, was also a strong motivation. Job satisfaction seemed more important than high salaries. Many single parents wanted more for their children and further education was the only way they could get a better-paying job. These students were highly motivated, determined to reach their goals. Almost all of them had experienced some academic successes in their past, but most of them had families who were indifferent to higher education, and often, in the same family, attitudes toward the student’s attempt to obtain more education were ambivalent. Students did not express many problems in the areas of scheduling, transportation, or child care, even though the community college could be classified as a "commuter college." Their attitudes were positive toward the school, and toward their educational experiences. Most of them were enrolled in a business or medical curriculum. Students viewed general education courses positively. They saw such courses as expanding their outlook on life and opening up new worlds for them. All of the students said they would recommend returning to school to other women in their age group.

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The career development and career decision-making needs of African-American males have generated much inquiry. Two year colleges currently serve as the predominant point of entry for many African-American male students seeking baccalaureate degrees. However, the transition to and eventual success at the four-year institution is often met with challenges. The inability to choose a major that may lead to a desired career has the potential to serve as a barrier for some students. From the lens of social cognitive career theory, this qualitative study was conducted to examine the experiences of undecided, African-American male transfer students at a large, four-year metropolitan university. Upon analyzing data from the interviews, themes were developed according to three research questions. Themes that offered insight into major selection process included: (a) choosing a major that offered potential job stability/security, (b) experiences related to academic ability, and (c) experiences with gender relative to career decision-making. Participation in the Direct Connect program was the minor theme found related to experiences encountered in the transfer process that influence major and/or career development. Themes related to the development of career decision-making self-efficacy included: (a) choosing careers believed to be consistent with one’s person, (b) indecision while at the community college, (c) engagement in practical experiences, (d) solving problems, (e) meeting with advisors and counselors at the community college, and (e) involvement in extracurricular activities

This study investigated the social factors affecting female Hispanic transfer students. The importance of the study relates to the relatively low graduation rates for this population and the fact that the Hispanics represent the fastest growing segment of the population in California. This study explored the topic through qualitative inquiry leading to the formation of a grounded theory. The population was limited to female Hispanic students under the age of 30, who transferred from a local 2 year college, and who applied for graduation. There were two groups: (a) neither parent attended college, and (b) at least one parent attended college. Data collection occurred in three stages: (a) collection and review of demographic data, (b) rating importance of involvement factors, and (c) guided questions to facilitate opportunity for discovery. The most universal finding was that family was their most influential social connection regarding support to attend and graduate from college. This finding was true irrespective of parental educational level. Most of the students felt their experience at the 2 year college was an extension of high school . All of the students had at least some fear about transferring and all of the students held down jobs while attending college. Each student had very a different experience in this process. This led the researcher to caution college and university decision makers to be careful not to oversimplify solutions to this issue. Faculty support was found to be particularly important in this study because the time students did spend on campus was almost exclusively in the classroom. This confirmed that faculty provides a key opportunity for individual attention and support for persisting to graduation. Other researchers should further examine the concept of the Three Connections in Social Integration : (a) personal connections, (b) extra curricular connections, and (c) academic connections. Examine the concept of the Five Stages to Graduation : (a) early experiences, (b) decision to attend the 2 year college, (c) the 2 year college experience, (d) transition, and (e) the 4 year college experience.

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It is the norm for institutions to report on their retention and graduation rates only for first-year student cohorts. Colleges and universities that report their first-year retention rates in the 90% range often do not account for their newly admitted transfer students. Much of the nuance in reporting retention comes from unaccounted transfer student registrations and enrollments. Reporting transfer retention is also much harder, since many transfer students do not have predictable patterns of enrollment. This study examined factors that contribute to graduation, dropout and persistence and how they differ by race, socioeconomic class, and gender. Based on a new student questionnaire conducted in 2015, 2016, 2017 by a large research institution in the Mid Atlantic, an exploratory statistical technique CHAID (Chi-Squared Automatic Interaction Detection) designed for a categorical dependent variable, was employed to establish the characteristics of transfer students who had a high probability to drop out after transferring to their new institution. Examining the dendrogram, one can easily classify the various “at-risk” student groups by tracing each of the terminal groups to the root of the tree. The results of this study provide context and information for developing transfer-friendly programming and interventions at both community colleges and four-year institutions. The results will be valuable to senior-level staff, front line student support staff, faculty, and community organizations focused on helping students who seek re-enrollment after an extended academic leave period. Additionally, this study will demonstrate how modeling techniques can be used to develop predictive models for different populations, across different colleges. / Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that might be contributing to the high academic success (GPA 3.0 or greater) of certain community college transfer students at a research university. The data for this study were collected in the Spring of 1990 using the population of Maryland community college transfer students enrolling at the University of Maryland, College Park for the Fall, 1988 semester. Discriminant function analysis was used to answer the following question, "What predicts academic success, as defined by grade-point average, of community college transfer students to a research university?" The criterion or dependent variable was group membership determined by grade-point average earned during the first semester of attendance at the University (Dl = GPA 3.0 or greater, DO = GPA less than 3.0). / Ed. D.