Roughly 40% of first-time freshman enter college at two-year institutions (Ginder, et al., 2015) and between roughly 70 to 80% of students enrolled at two-year institutions report the intent to continue their education to earn a bachelor’s degree (Jenkins & Fink, 2016; U.S. Department of Education, 2001). However, less than half of the percentage of community college students who intend to transfer formally transfer to a four-year institution (Shapiro et al., 2017), and even fewer complete their degrees in a timely manner once enrolled at the receiving institution (Chen, et al., 2019; Berkner, Horn, & Clune, 2000; Bradburn, Hurst, & Peng, 2001). Previous research has found that students who successfully transfer from a two-year to a four-year institution often outright lose credits or discover that degree program equivalent credit does not apply to the selected major during the transfer process (Keith, 1996; Ignash & Townsend, 2000; Simone, 2014; Hodara, Martinez-Wenzl, Stevens, & Mazzeo, 2016). The loss of credits towards a student’s declared field of study has major implications, including limited financial aid eligibility, additional tuition costs due to repeated course work, additional time to degree, and inevitably, delayed opportunities for competitive employment (U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2017). The study focused on Florida and used three states with varying degrees of statewide transfer policies as comparison states (Arizona, New York, Pennsylvania). The study is based on the quantitative analyses of three databases, two of which were federally collected databases and one which was constructed from data collected in this research project. The federal data sets were the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG). The other project data set, referred to as Florida College and University Surveys (FCUS), was constructed from survey responses from two- and four-year public Florida institutions. The graduation rates of transfer students were higher than those of first-time-in-college students (FTIC). Most students who earned a bachelor’s degree was a transfer student who also reported the earning of an associate’s degree. On a percentage basis, FTIC students earned slightly more bachelor’s degrees in science and engineering fields than transfer students. Transfer students were found to earn a higher percentage of bachelor’s degrees in science and engineering related fields, and non-science and engineering related fields compared to their FTIC counterparts. FTIC students were more likely to earn advanced degrees beyond the bachelor’s degree than transfer students. Based on common transfer metrics commonly used by public two- and four-year state institutions, Florida had the most comprehensive statewide transfer and articulation policies, and New York had the least comprehensive. Quantitative results indicated a strong relationship between the six-year transfer graduation rates and the states and revealed Florida had the lowest graduation rates of transfer students, while Pennsylvania had the highest. Additionally, there was a strong relationship between the six-year transfer graduation rates of Pell Grant eligible transfer students and the states, nonetheless, the graduation rates of Pell Grant eligible transfer students were measurably lower than the overall population of transfer students. Quantitative results indicated Florida and Arizona transfer graduation rates differed significantly at the .05 level. It was found that transfer-in rate and percent of full-time enrollment negatively impacted transfer students’ graduation rates. These findings provide insight to the completion rates of transfer students in states with varying levels of statewide transfer and articulation policies. Further research should examine the extent to which individual transfer policies have on student outcomes, such as locally established major/program-based institution-to-institution agreements. Additionally, to gain a deeper understanding of the variables that have a relationship with transfer student outcomes, further research should investigate the differences in the interpretation and implementation of transfer and articulation policies between the states. / Policy, Organizational and Leadership Studies

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The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that lead female undergraduate students to pursue an academic major in engineering and to persist in their engineering studies. This research focuses on women who are currently studying in the fields of engineering in an effort to determine whether or not common themes emerge that impacted their decision to major in these academic programs. Specifically, this study aims to better understand what factors exist that influence women to study engineering. Despite the fact that research has been conducted in this area, the findings from these studies do not appear to have had an impact on the number of women who choose to major in engineering upon entering college, as this number has not been increasing. The goal of this study is to provide for the following: Policy makers, high school guidance counselors, and the colleges and universities involved in this study can be better informed and benefit from knowing what factors influence women to major and persist in the field of engineering at their respective institutions.

Thesis advisor: Michael Hartney / This thesis analyzes the sporadic and incoherent federal approaches to education policy over the last half century to reveal a theory of policymaking constraints that elucidates the tensions between political will for equity and implementation capacity that are intrinsic to federal education policy. I then apply this theory to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). I find that consistent with my theory of policymaking constraints, a majority of states responded to the increased flexibility in ESSA by retreating from equity concerns. I then explore possible predictive factors for cross-state variation, presenting evidence that wealthy citizen satisfaction with local schools was associated with a decrease in attention to equity in state ESSA plans and that states that evaded accountability measures under No Child Left Behind continued to do so under the Every Student Succeeds Act. These results contribute to an important debate about the retreat from equity commitments under ESSA and furthermore, the theoretical framework that explains the policy zigzag in education policy since 1965. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Political Science.