While community college transfer students who successfully matriculate into the four-year institution enjoy high persistence and graduation rates, inequities continue to be inherent throughout the process. In order to succeed during this transition, students must employ effective help-seeking strategies that provide them with access to timely and accurate information. This study seeks to be a formal examination of these informational networks. It describes the extensity, composition and positionality of these networks as transfer students exit the community college and enter a large research-extensive university. It also studies the effect that participation in a transfer course has on these informational networks. The results imply that informational networks remain relatively similar throughout the transfer process but that certain populations, including first-generation students and females, are less likely to rely on institutional agents for information. In addition, the effects of a transfer success course appear to be short-term, although it may reap larger benefits for at-risk populations. These findings suggest that socio-academic integration theories are more relevant to community college transfer students than theories based on traditional populations who enter four-year institutions directly out of high school.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/145297 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | O'Brien, Celia Laird |
| Contributors | Rios-Aguilar, Cecilia, Milem, Jeffrey F., Deil-Amen, Regina |
| Publisher | The University of Arizona. |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Dissertation, text |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. |
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