Few data exist that specifically examine the relationship between student transiency and achievement test scores. No concrete data exist on any of the Bristol, Tennessee, City Schools that specifically examine the relationship between student transience and achievement test scores. Few studies use quantitative measures to investigate the relationship of transiency on achievement. This study is significant because the researcher used data collected through quantitative methods to examine the impact of transience on one school. This dissertation addressed the question, “How is achievement related to transiency?” Additional questions included: “How do nontransient first through sixth graders perform on the Terra Nova Achievement Test?” and “How do transient first through sixth graders students perform on the same test?” Conducted by a district employee in the participating school district, this study was quantitative and interpretive. The data included test results for three years: 2001, 2002, and 2003. With very few exceptions, the overall scores of nontransient students in this study were higher than that of transient students. The mean between transient and nontransient students was not enough to be statistically significant.

In recent years attention has been concentrated on the experiences of traditional college students, with very little research or attention on the experiences of transfer students. The purpose of this causal comparative mixed-methods study was to describe the experiences of transfer students who engage in the experiential learning activities of service learning and/or internship activities at a four-year public Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) in the Inland Empire. Relationships were found between transfer students who participated in service learning and/or internship activities and those transfer students who did not participate in those activities on the following: level of satisfaction with their educational experience, current job/career, and sense of connectedness to the university, and beliefs about how much the university contributed to their acquisition of job- or work-related knowledge and skills. Predominant concepts regarding transfer students' beliefs about what the university could do to help them be successful, were the implementation of a transfer student orientation and creating a transfer student center.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to learn about the perceptions and experiences of students who graduated with the Associates of Arts/Oregon Transfer (AA/OT) degree. This study answered the following questions: 1) How did the AA/OT degree attainment assist in the overall achievement of goals? 2) How did AA/OT graduates view the transfer process? 3) What factors influenced the transfer process? 4) What was the overall perception of the AA/OT degree? A phenomenological approach was used. Qualitative data were collected through interviews with 18 students who graduated with the AA/OT degree at an urban community college in Oregon. Data analysis occurred through the creation of profiles of the participants and the emergence of themes. As a result of answering the research questions about the experiences of AA/OT graduates, five themes emerged. These included: Theme 1: The AA/OT degree made the transfer process easier and helped students overcome common barriers or obstacles to transfer. Theme 2: AA/OT graduates were frustrated with the academic environment at the community college. Theme 3: AA/OT graduates encountered stigmas associated with community college attendance. Theme 4: Advising and mentoring were crucial to goal attainment. Theme 5: Degree attainment influenced behavior change. This study concluded that articulated degrees can help make the transfer process smoother by freeing students from worrying about how or if their credits will transfer, thus allowing the student more time to concentrate on other aspects of the transfer process. The findings of this study suggest there are advantages to obtaining the Associate degree prior to transfer. / Graduation date: 2004

This dissertation examined the experiences of African American and Hispanic community college transfers studying in a predominantly White institution (PWI) teacher education program. Extant literature has demonstrated that there is an increasing shortage of public school teachers of color. To address this pervasive crisis, universities must recruit larger numbers of under-represented students from America's community colleges to fill the gap. Additionally, under-represented students in predominantly White institution (PWI) teacher education programs must be retained and graduated in higher numbers to impact teacher production. To understand the needs and experiences of these students, three African American and four Hispanic students successfully studying in the College of Education and Human Development at Texas A & M University were interviewed to examine their experiences as they transitioned into and through the pre-service teacher education program. This study utilized a case study analysis and data collected through interviews, observations, and document analysis were analyzed utilizing constant comparative techniques. Key themes that emerged through data analysis included (1) Student Perceptions of the Transfer Process, (2) The Role of Intimate Support Structures, (3) The Role of Institutional Support Structures, (4) Situational Factors Faced by Under-represented Transfers, and (5) Strategies Employed by Under-represented Transfers in a Predominantly White, Teacher Education Program. Findings from this study suggest that Texas A & M University should improve the marketing of academic support resources and provide narrowly tailored services to meet the needs of under-represented transfer students. Additionally, Schlossberg's Transition Theory is amended to better represent the assets and liabilities utilized by these populations in this particular PWI.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--UCLA, 2009. / Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-88).

This study investigates student school transitions during adolescence, and how the maintenance and disruption of social ties during this school change affects students' academic trajectory through high school. School transitions are a compulsory part of the American system of education and are characterized as the movement of students between schools. Students follow these institutional pathways when they change schools, and which pathway followed plays a role in how they adjust to the new school. Some transitions are normative and are a part of the organization of schools, such as the transition from middle to high school. Some involve deviation from the traditional path, such as transferring during high school. In either case, transitions interrupt students' academic trajectory through school and involve a transformation of school-based social relationships that affect academic success. Effects of transitions have been underconceptualized in current empirical research, particularly with regard to the nonacademic realm of schools. This dissertation extends research on school transitions by broadening our understanding of how student movement between institutions affects their academic trajectory and how this is linked to three crucial aspects of student transitions: institutional pathway, social relationships made in schools and the opportunity for new social ties at the receiving school. Results reinforce that both affective attachment and extracurricular involvement are related to students overall academic trajectory. This is the case even after those ties are disrupted and reconfigured by changing schools. Results also suggest that social opportunity at the receiving institution is protective against low academic outcomes in the transition to high school, particularly among students who are socially and academically disengaged in middle school. Finally, results point to similarities among students who follow divergent institutional pathways, either in the transition to high school or for those who transfer during high school. Specifically, these students fare better after a school change by the end of high school, net of where they started academically, if they are disengaged from the sending school.

This qualitative study utilizes data acquired from interviews with 18 community college transfer students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) majors and 7 university staff people who work in direct student services with this student population. This study explores the experiences of transfer students in STEM majors regarding what influenced their college persistence, particularly the relevance of STEM career aspirations. Students report their experiences of social and academic integration after transfer; the phenomenon of transfer shock is also explored and incorporated. Institutional policies such as articulation agreements are considered. Implications for student services practice and future research are presented.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Bowling Green State University, 2008. / Document formatted into pages; contains xiv, 181 p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 1976. / Title from title page screen, viewed Dec. 10, 2004. Dissertation Committee: Elwood Egelston (chair), Charles Porter, Clayton Thomas, Ralph Meyering, Wilbur Venerable. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 85-89) and abstract. Also available in print.