Transfer between community colleges and four-year institutions has become more common as student mobility increases. Accordingly, the higher education system has coped with the fluidity by establishing articulation agreements that facilitate pathways from one institution to another. The forward-facing policies and guides to inform students on those pathways are known to be complicated, leading to the development of web-based tools like Transferology to help students navigate the system. Still, credit loss is common, whether through misunderstandings, lack of awareness, or changing degree plans. A proliferation of literature examines the experiences of transfer students and other agents in the process like community college advisors, but few pieces interrogate the underlying website structures that facilitate those experiences as the unit of analysis. Information related to facilitating transfer from one institution to another is often fragmented across multiple webpages or policies and uses language not optimal for communicating with students – creating what are called "information asymmetries" between the students and institutions. The premise of an exchange having information asymmetries is that one or more parties in the exchange have more or better information than the others, leading to an imbalance in power. In the case of higher education, transfer students – and their advisors by extension – can be subjected to manipulation by the invisible hands of the four-year institutions through language gaps and scattered sources of information. Accordingly, this dissertation explored four-year university websites, a major point of contact students have with information on transfer, to address the following main research question: "How are information asymmetries in curricular policies/procedures apparent for engineering students on institutional webpages in terms of language and fragmentation?" The subsequent research question synthesized the results of the first question: "Looking across information asymmetry measures, what are the different narratives of information asymmetry that integrate themes of language and fragmentation across institutions?" A fully integrated mixed methods design using all existing data was employed to address the two research questions. A stratified random sample was taken with respect to institution size based on their Carnegie classifications (n = 38). The collection of relevant public webpages based on a set of keywords from the sampled institutions was transformed into three network measures - hierarchy, centrality, and nonlinear – that were used in cluster analyses to group the institutions based on their information structures. Sequential mixed methods sampling was used to choose institutions purposefully from each cluster based on notable features recorded during the first stage of data collection. Two-cycle coding followed the cluster analysis by elaborating on the networks formed during data collection. I used joint displays to organize the networks and In-Vivo codes in the same picture and develop themes related to fragmentation and language simultaneously. K-means and K-medoids cluster methods both produced the same four cluster solution illustrating one aspect of information asymmetries through fragmentation. The clustering solution highlighted four major network patterns, plus one cluster mixing two of the patterns: 1) linear browsing, 2) centralized expansive browsing, 3) branched browsing, and 4) mixed browsing. Further qualitative analysis of the sampled institutions revealed several types of missteps where information is obscured through language or dispersed in the network. I explored a subset of 16 institutions and identified four themes related to fragmentation (unlinked divergence, progressive disclosure, lack of uniformity, and neighborhood linking) and six themes related to language (hedging transferability and applicability, legalese handwaving, building rapport, exclusivity, deviance from common practice, and defining terms). The missteps were contextualized further using six narratives with institutional examples. This work characterized the information design for transfer students as a messy web of loosely connected structures with language that complicates understanding. Integrated narratives illustrate a landscape of loosely coupled information structures that become more expansive as state initiatives interact with already existing local agreements. Moreover, institutional websites describing transfer processes use communication strategies similar to private companies writing online privacy policies. In light of the themes of information asymmetries, opportunities for supporting transfer were highlighted. For example, institutions are encouraged to create visual representations of the transfer credit process, ensure terms are defined upfront while minimizing jargon, and avoid linking to information that is easily summarizable on the current page. This research would be of interest to institutions looking to improve the presentation of their transfer information by critically examining their designs for the missteps described here. In addition, engineering education practitioners and researchers studying transfer student pathways and experiences will find the results of interest – especially in considering how to support the students despite the large information gaps. Finally, those looking to implement a fully integrated mixed methods design or use existing/archival data in their own context will find the use of mixing strategies of interest. / Doctor of Philosophy / Transfer between community colleges and four-year institutions has become more common as student mobility increases, especially for engineering. Institutions have coped with this inter-institutional movement by establishing agreements with each other that facilitate pathways between programs. The forward-facing policies and guides to inform students on such pathways are known to be complicated, leading to the development of web-based tools like Transferology to help students navigate the system. Despite these advances, transfer students continue to struggle in their information search. The purpose of this dissertation was to describe the extent to which information for engineering transfer students is scattered across multiple web-based sources and written in a manner not conducive to understanding. I used a fully integrated mixed methods design to create narratives capturing the interactions between the more quantitative idea of scatter using network analysis and the more qualitative aspect of language-use using visually based two-cycle coding across 38 U.S. four-year institutions. All data was readily available online, which were transformed and combined using several mixing strategies to form integrated stories of information asymmetries. The resulting narratives characterized the information design for transfer students as a messy web of loosely connected structures with language that complicates understanding. Moreover, institutional websites describing transfer processes use communication strategies similar to private companies writing online privacy policies. In light of the themes of information asymmetries, opportunities for supporting transfer were highlighted. This work will be of interest to those interested in engineering transfer student experiences and pathways. Also, those looking to implement fully integrated mixed methods approaches or make extensive use of existing data, especially mixing during analysis, will see strategies applicable in their own work.

"The purpose of the investigation reported here are: 1. To determine whether or not the junior college transfers do as good work as the native students of the North Texas State Teachers College..."--1.

SHAPING FUZZY GOALS THROUGH TEACHER-STUDENT INTERACTION: A DETAILED LOOK AT THE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN COMMUNITY COLLEGE FACULTY AND TRANSFER STUDENTS by Diana K. Leonard Faculty-student interactions have been largely neglected in the research regarding community colleges and community college transfer students. Yet faculty serve as points of institutional contact, and might also serve a central role in student experiences and decision-making. The purpose of this study was to increase our understanding of the dynamics and interactions that impact student experiences and decisions regarding transfer at the community college and to understand how those interactions contributed to goal formation. Symbolic interactionism (Blumer, 1969) provided a framework to guide the mixed-methods approach, which was primarily qualitative, utilizing online surveys and personal interviews to investigate students' interpretations of the student-teacher interactions. Quantitative data analysis measured teacher influence. 429 students who successfully transferred to a Research I university in the southwest, from in-state community colleges completed the survey. Ten students from this pool, subsequently interviewed, reflected various levels of uncertainty in their goals to transfer. These uncertain goals were termed "fuzzy" goals.In addition to symbolic interactionism as a framework, Stanton-Salazar's (1997) concept of institutional agents, supported with Bourdieu's (1977) cultural and social capital and Tinto's (1975) theory of social and academic integration were used to guide this study. Findings illustrated that students did utilize their teachers as institutional agents, who provided them with cultural knowledge and facilitated their understanding of procedures and processes through active as well as passive teacher-agency. Five themes emerged in students' interpretation of the student-teacher interactions: support, motivation, guidance, inspiration, and modeling. All had varying effects on students' uncertainty and contributed to shaping their fuzzy goals and to their social and academic integration into academe.This study can inform our understanding of the well-known gap in BA attainment between students who begin at a community college intending to transfer and students who begin at a four-year institution. Further, this study can inform strategic planning geared toward supporting teachers more fully in their role as institutional agents conveying social and cultural capital to students to increase their leverage for success once they transfer to the university.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Wyoming, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Apr. 16, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 120-125).

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Employing Museus’ (2014) Culturally Engaging Campus Environment framework, this mixed-method exploratory study sought to ascertain what prospective (proTSCC) and current transfer students from community colleges (TSCC) knew about nationally competitive awards and to identify factors that influenced their decision to apply. Beginning with phenomenological interviews of transfer students and alumni, their responses informed the development of an Access to Nationally Competitive Awards Scale, which was then disseminated to currently enrolled community college students who indicated intentions of transferring to a four-year institution. Transfer students from community colleges (TSCC) make up approximately 19% of enrollment at four-year institutions, yet research has shown that TSCC frequently feel unsupported and lost during and after the transfer process (Schmertz, & Carney, 2013; Tobolowsky & Cox, 2012). Nationally competitive awards (NCAs) fund a variety of opportunities, including study abroad, research, graduate school, and more (Cobane & Jennings, 2017). Currently, there is a dearth of research on NCAs, specifically in relation to access and awareness of these opportunities (Terri Heath et al., 1993). Furthermore, many NCAs require campus support, generally in the form of an institutional endorsement or nomination letter (National Association of Fellowship Advisors, n.d., Guidelines for Institutions section), which places access directly in the hands of institutions. Findings show that TSCC and proTSCC were mostly unaware of NCAs, yet they were eligible for at least one of the study exemplars and highly interested in learning more about these opportunities. Moreover, specific external, individual, and campus environment factors influenced their motivation to apply.

With the national attention in the 1990’s on quality education and renewed interest in the transfer function of community colleges, the community college faces increased demands from the legislators for educational accountability and the critics who question the two-year college’s ability to maintain the quality of its transfer function at the same time that it provides vocational, community, and developmental education. Among the issues in the growing concern for transfer education, and most significant to the future of the community college, is the inference that the original transfer function has reemerged as a primary determinant of community college quality. Thus, the community college must respond to the critics and demonstrate the efficacy of its transfer function. To examine the influences that contribute to the high academic achievement (GPA 3.0 or greater) of a transfer student from a Virginia community college to Virginia Tech and determine why the high-achieving student succeeds, the researcher utilized the qualitative research method of naturalistic inquiry with interviews and a quantitative research method with a questionnaire, a methodological triangulation for reliability and validity in qualitative research. In this research study of the two-year commuter institution, integration into the academic system appears more important to high-achievement than integration into the social system; moreover, the faculty-student interaction and collegiate impact seem significantly related to student characteristics, both findings of which are supported in the literature. With the originally eligible and originally ineligible more alike than different in entry characteristics, it seems probable that the community college experience is influential for students with the particular characteristics of those in this study. Based on the findings in this study that the community college experience appears to have positive influence on educational aspiration and that the influence varies for different kinds of students, educators must consider different types of faculty~student interaction with different educational outcomes for different types of students--a topic of some significance for the diverse population of the community college. In this study of the community college with its open-door policy to expand the opportunity for the student without academic credentials, forty percent of these high-achievers were originally ineligible for admission to Virginia Tech; however, the combination of their characteristics as self-directed learners and the faculty-student interaction in the community college environment led them to success as high-achievers not only at the community college but also at Virginia Tech. / Ph. D.

This study filled a gap in the higher education literature regarding whether a relationship exists between students’ employment location on or off campus, students’ identification as either native or transfer, and academic success as measured by self-reported grades for full-time seniors between the ages of 20-23 who enrolled in urban colleges and universities. The researcher used the National Survey of Student Engagement survey to collect data. It was administered to students during the 2013 or 2014 administrations at urban colleges and universities, with the purpose of representing the senior cohorts of students at their college or university during the years of administration. The researcher performed a secondary data analysis of the survey responses to the National Survey of Student Experiences of senior students who fit the sampling criterion, with the permission of Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research. The results showed that, for both native and transfer senior student cohorts, as work hours off campus increased, there was a decrease in self-reported grades. In contrast, both native and transfer students who worked on campus enjoyed higher self-reported grades, and students who worked on campus performed better academically than even those students who did not work at all. Finally, the researcher noted no significant difference between the senior native and transfer student populations’ experiences with employment location and grades.

Although much has been written about the challenges affecting transfer students, a mixed method study on transfer admission, particularly at the institutional level is an intriguing, albeit unexplored endeavor. In Texas, there is an added dimension of interest given the presence and popularity of the Top 10% Law. This study sought to provide a comprehensive portrait of transfer admission at The University of Texas at Austin from the 1990s to 2007. A sequential explanatory design was employed to identify changes in transfer admission policy and practice and to address if there were differences in admission rates among the major transfer pathways to the state’s largest flagship institution (Creswell, Plano Clark, Gutmann, & Hanson, 2003). Two main conclusions emerged from this study. First, transfer admission became more competitive and selective after the passage of the state’s Top 10% Law in 1997. Second, qualitative and quantitative findings suggested the implementation of a conditional transfer guarantee program for highly selective freshman applicants resulted in significantly less opportunity for transfer applicants from community colleges and other transfer routes to be admitted. Based on these findings, recommendations included reinvesting in a community college transfer student recruitment and scholarship program and significantly reducing the size of the university’s conditional transfer guarantee program for admissible freshmen applicants. A final suggestion was to identify and value the community college route in the holistic transfer admission process given the large proportion of first-generation college, low-income students who comprise this population. To avoid perceptions of sponsored mobility and to promote a social justice rationale, a pre-selection transfer program to prospective freshmen should be revisited given the adverse effects on the community college transfer population. With over 600,000 students enrolled in Texas 2-year colleges, a viable pathway to the state’s most prestigious flagship university provides increased opportunities for social mobility to the many competitively admissible first-generation and low-income students populating public 2-year colleges and seeking a baccalaureate degree from UT Austin. / text