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Transfer Pathways, Policies and Advising

Julie M. Montgomery

Sinclair Community College – Mason Campus

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Abstract

Academic advisors working in a community college setting work with transfer students daily and

the first question is, “Will my credits and financial aid transfer?” This is an important and multi-

faceted question requiring the academic advisor to understand pathways at university partner

schools and to inform the transfer student of all their options. This paper explains two Ohio

Higher Education policies, the Transfer Assurance Guide (Ohio Transfer Module) and

Completion Funding, which were created to help transfer students and higher education

institutions improve credit loss and completion rates. In the new landscape of completion

funding, Sinclair College’s university partners have developed programs to specifically target

those students for transfer by offering tuition freezes and scholarships. A few negative outcomes

transfer students face when they transfer from their home school are credit loss and cost of

attendance. Further study could include tracking students who take post-secondary classes and

Advanced Placement tests in high school or following students who are “swirling”. Academic

Advisors can be proactive in the first appointment and ask a student their transfer plans. This

allows for the conversation and planning to begin. It is important for academic advisors to create

relationships with transfer experts at partner institutions and to hold transfer fairs on campus

each year.

Keywords: transfer student, policies, completion funding

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Transfer Pathways, Policies and Advising

Transfer students are an important topic in state houses and on college campuses. Data

from the National Student Clearinghouse (SC) report shows that almost one-third of students

who begin college at a public 2-year institution complete at least one transfer within five years of

their initial enrollment (Hossler et al 2012). In the 2017-2018 academic year in Ohio, 31,137

students transferred among Ohio Public Institutions of Higher Education. Unfortunately, not all

of the students who transfer are successful at their new institution. Which factors are

contributing to transfer student’s success? What lingering biases contribute to a student’s lack of

completion? What tools are academic advisors using to give their students the best chance for

graduation with a Baccalaureate degree?

Ohio State Policies

In 1990 the Department of Ohio Higher Education approved the Transfer Assurance Guide,

which included the Ohio Transfer Module (OTM), which is a collection of general education

classes grouped in categories and includes 36-40 hours of semester credit. The OTM classes are

categorized as follows:

 Art and Humanities.

 Social and Behavioral Sciences.
 Mathematics.
 English/Communication.
 Natural and Physical Sciences (Ohio Higher Ed, 2019).

When a student successfully passes a class from this category at their home school and

transfers this class to another institution in Ohio, the receiving school must accept this class for

transfer, even though, the class may not necessarily apply to the student’s degree. The OTM

website is helpful for academic advisors and students to view the OTM list for each institution.
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In conversations with students, it is important to encourage them to contact their transfer school

and discuss OTM classes that would be the best choice so they can be used for their

Baccalaureate degree.

In 2009, Ohio joined numerous other states by instituting a performance based funding

model to fund institutions of higher education instead of basing funding solely on enrollment. In

2014, the program was reviewed and changes in funding were adopted. For community colleges,

the performance funding was based on completion of courses, degrees and certificates (Carey,

2014). Degrees and transfer rates for community colleges rose from 2013 to 2014 by 328

students. Since institutions were now receiving funds for completion, new relationships began to

build between university partners. The landscape became more cooperative and four year

colleges and universities started viewing two year community colleges with more interest.

Partnerships

With changes in funding and a completion focus, Sinclair College decided to hire a Transfer

Coordinator to work with the college’s university partners. It was important to have a focal that

the university partners could contact to update articulation agreements and to create new

partnerships. This position has been important to the Mason Campus, since this campus is

closest to the University of Cincinnati and few articulation agreements existed for students

interested in this institution.

In response to the change in funding, the four year partners came to the table and began to

collaborate with Sinclair. A few examples of successful new programs are: Miami University

created an office with transfer coordinators in different regions of Ohio to facilitate transferring

into Miami, which is the most challenging transfer school in the region. This office has worked

well with academic advisors and provides needed information to students so they can make wise
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OTM course choices to save them time once they transfer to Miami University. The University

of Cincinnati created a “Center for Pathway Advising & Student Success” for transfer students.

The University of Cincinnati is a large institution, so this office has been very helpful to provide

personal service and the correct information to plan appropriate classes to prepare a student to

transfer. The University of Cincinnati also offers a transfer scholarship of $2,100 if a student

transfers with a 3.2 cumulative GPA or higher. The University of Dayton instituted the

University of Dayton/Sinclair Academy. Students accepted in the Academy are considered dual

students until they transfer to the University of Dayton. This status gives them the ability to use

the library, the recreation center on the University of Dayton’s campus, and buy basketball

tickets. An Academy student’s tuition is locked once they are accepted and they will receive

scholarships when they transfer. The Academy gives students the feel of being part of a

university and detailed articulation agreements allow students to feel confident about how classes

are going to transfer.

After research conducted by the Ohio Department of Education (ODHE) revealed high

transfer rates in the southwest region of Ohio, the ODHE funded the Ohio Southwest Region

Transfer Summit “with the ultimate goal of creating strategies to increase the baccalaureate

graduation and retention rates of transfer students starting at community colleges” (UC, 2018).

To date, there have been five summits held. The topics of the summits have focused on areas

that can be challenging regarding the transfer process. Topics have included partnerships

between 2 and 4-year institutions in the region and partnerships between Career Technical

Schools and 2 and 4-year institutions in the region. These conversations have been productive

and participants at all levels realize how much there is to learn to build better relationships to

support students.
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Hurdles

Unfortunately, not all four year colleges and universities are interested in creating a

smooth transition for transfer students. Cost of attendance is one reason since the university only

receives two years of tuition instead of four, along with the higher tuition charged at four year

schools versus community colleges. Students are concerned also about the student loan debt they

will incur since their Pell Grant and loans may not cover all of their tuition. (Zamani, 2001).

Despite the best efforts of policymakers and college boards, the issue of credit loss at four year

schools forces students to complete additional credit hours to finish their degree. Credit loss can

be attributed to poorly written articulation agreements, changing majors or transferring into a

professional program such as education, which requires meeting state requirements to be eligible

to sit for licensure. (U.S. Government Accountability Office 2017). Another issue with credit

loss is financial aid. In the 2015-2016 Federal Student Aid Handbook, students are required to

finish their program in 150% of the published program length. If a student does not complete the

program their financial aid will be suspended due to maximum time frame and they must file an

appeal with the financial aid office. (U.S. Department of Education, 2015).

Academic Advisor’s Role

The role of the community college academic advisor is to ask the question at the first advising

appointment if a student plans on transferring to a four year school. Students and families need

to understand the process and to visit the transfer school to make sure the culture is a good fit

and the family’s education budget is adequate to cover tuition and fees. Each appointment

should include the transfer conversation since policies are updated and the program availability

may change at the transfer school. Every year, community colleges would benefit their future
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transfer students by holding a transfer fair on campus so students can talk to multiple campuses

in one visit.

Further Study

The next step for studying transfer students would be to look at the students who are taking post-

secondary classes in high school and testing for Advanced Placement credit and follow those

students through to completion. Another angle would be to look at the students who have been

identified as “swirling” and track their completion and find out why they swirl. Swirling is

characterized as students taking classes at two or more institutions without leaving their home

institution (Avalos, S., Briggs, K., Martinzez, M. (2017, September). What is missing at one

institution that causes them to not finish? Does this institution have confusing transfer

procedures and are there hidden policies only known by academic advisors at the institution?

More research on practices that help students prepare for transferring and creating programs with

transfer schools for a seamless handoff.

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References

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