The Transfer Experience

"The Transfer Experience is a gift to educators who view transfer as a social justice imperative. Transfer matters now, perhaps more than ever, and the text offers the most comprehensive, evidence-based analysis of the transfer experience. The authors offer a transformational view of the transfer journey that goes beyond a mechanistic, processual experience. Shattering outmoded transfer assumptions, the authors take care to present a more thoughtful, holistic view of transfer keeping in mind that underserved, first-generation, adult learners should be assisted in every way to fulfill their hopes and dreams of earning a bachelor’s degree. The text offers fertile ground for significant equity and justice dialogue, transformational changes and policy considerations."

Laura I. Rendón - author of Sentipensante Pedagogy: Educating for Wholeness, Social Justice and Liberation, Stylus Press

“Helping students achieve their educational goals is a win for everyone, and brings the “American Dream” closer to reality. A key, underutilized strategy in reaching this goal is an effective, holistic transfer system that begins when a student enters an institution of higher education and continues through completion. The Transfer Experience: A Handbook for Creating a More Equitable and Successful Postsecondary System is authored by “transfer warriors” who understand and are passionate about transfer. The book is a comprehensive educational masterpiece that challenges and inspires higher education leaders and policy makers to skillfully and purposefully foster transfer student success, thereby enhancing the quality of life for students.”

Paula K. Compton, Associate Vice Chancellor, Articulation and Transfer - Ohio Department of Higher Education

“Transfer is a vital mechanism for closing the racial and income equity gaps in higher education, as well as an unnecessarily complex issue that too often leaves students stranded on their academic journeys. I share the authors’ holistic philosophy of the transfer student experience and particularly appreciate their emphasis on the student’s pre-transfer academic preparation. This handbook is an essential tool for ensuring these students are propelled to degree completion.”

Janet L. Marling, Executive Director, The National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students - University of North Georgia

“As a former vice president of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management at one of America’s leading community colleges, and as a three-time University Chancellor, I have attended more conferences and read more books about student success than I can recall. The Transfer Experience, edited by Gardner, Rosenberg, and Koch, is clearly one of the best I have ever read. Filled with proven nuggets of successful initiatives, this is required reading for faculty and administrators who are committed to creating a more equitable and successful system of postsecondary education. College access, student success and equity are core principles of democracy and each is achievable.”

Charlie Nelms, Chancellor Emeritus, North Carolina Central University & Vice President Emeritus - Indiana University

“This book is a timely and much-needed call to action to more effectively meet the transfer needs of our postsecondary students. The research contained within these chapters presents a playbook for both campus and state higher education officials to create and execute a strategy that will better serve students, campuses and states alike.”

Robert E. Anderson, President - SHEEO - State Higher Education Executive Officers Association

“The achievement and graduation of transfer students in higher education is one of the most important issues confronting colleges and universities.  Given that nearly half the undergraduate enrollees are in community colleges, we have to work together across the community college and 4-year sector to find structures, programs, and policies to strengthen their success.  The authors provide nuanced perspectives on how transfer student success must be addressed.”

Scott E. Evenbeck, Founding President - Stella and Charles Guttman Community College, City University of New York

Online Compendium

Foreword—John Hitt and Sandy Shugart
Preface: Timing Is Everything: Who We Are and Why This Book Is Needed Now
Introduction—John N. Gardner, Michael J. Rosenberg, and Andrew K. Koch 

Part One: Transfer in Context
1) Looking Back to See the Future: The Transfer Pathway as Historical Mirage—Stephen J. Handel
2) Institutional Barriers to Baccalaureate Transfer for Community College Students—John Fink and Davis Jenkins
3) Reframing Transfer as a Social Justice Imperative—Michael J. Rosenberg and Andrew K. Koch
4) Utilizing Transformative Theoretical Frameworks for Transfer Students of Color—José Del Real Viramontes and Dimpal Jain

Part Two: Pathways, Transitions, and Support
5) A Guide for the Perplexed: Creating a Transfer Affirming Culture at 4-Year Institutions to Increase the Enrollment of Community College Transfer Students—Stephen J. Handel
6) Making Financial Aid Work for Transfer Students—Jason Taylor
7) The Need for a Prior Learning Assessment Revolution to Support Transfer Student Success—Kathy Silberman and Rose Rojas
8) The Journey of a Transfer Student Into a Competency-Based Degree Program—Michelle Alvarez, Tess Diver, and Jamie Holcomb
9) Reverse Credit Transfer for Post-Traditional Transfer Students: Leading Disruptive Innovation—Debra D. Bragg and Heather N. McCambly
10) State Higher Education System Information Provision to Promote Transfer Student Success—Angela Bell
11) Transferring Countries: International Perspectives and Student Immigration Issues—Jason Chambers, Karen Ramos, and Sarah Mackey

Part Three: Teaching and Learning
12) The Chief Academic Officer’s Role in Transfer Student Success—Mark Canada
13) Momentum Stoppers and Equity Blockers: The Implications of Gateway Courses for Students at Their Transfer-Receiving Institutions—Andrew K. Koch and Brent M. Drake
14) \ Teaching for Inspiration: Approaches to Engaging Transfer Students in Gateway Courses—Stephanie M. Foote
15) Digital Learning for Transfer Students: From Definition to Applicable Possibilities—Susannah McGowan

Part Four: Case Studies: Transfer in Action
16) A Deep Commitment To Transfer Student Access and Success: The University of Central Florida Story—Maribeth Ehasz and J. Jeffrey Jones
17) Creating a Culture of Transfer: The Story of the Arizona State University Transfer Transformation—Maria Hesse

Conclusion: Where Do We Go From Here?—John N. Gardner, Michael J. Rosenberg, Andrew K. Koch

Editors and Contributors

Case Studies and Other Resources (Online Compendium)
Case 1: A Culture of Transfer: How Stella and Charles Guttman Community College Supports Transfer and Completion at 4-Four-Year Institutions—Danielle Insalaco-Egan
Case 2: A Quest for Equitable Transfer: Transfer Policies and Practices of the City University of New York—Chet Jordan and Niesha Ziehmke
Case 3: Making the Transition Seamless: Creating an Intentional Transfer Culture and Experience for Students Who Transfer From Perimeter College to Georgia State University-Atlanta—Charles Fox
Case 4: Advancing an Organizational Focus on Transfer Students: A Mission Driven Approach at IUPUI—Catherine Buyarski, Julie Landaw, Boyd Bradshaw, James Gladden, and Kathy E. Johnson
Case 5: Student Success for Transfer Students at Kean University—Deborah Skibitski and Jonathan Mercantini
Case 6: Partnerships in College Transfer Access and Success: North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities and the North Carolina Community College System—A. Hope Williams
Case 7: Transfer in a Rural Setting: The University Center of the Mountains—Deronda Collier Mobelini and G. Edward Hughes
Case 8: Instilling Transfer Pride at the University of California, Los Angeles—Heather Adams
Case 9: Interstate Passport: Streamlining Student Transfer Across State Lines—Patricia A. Shea
Case 10: The American Public University System: A “Military Friendly” Model for Student Transfer—Wallace E. Boston, Vernon Smith, and Melissa Layne
Case 11: The Tulsa Collaborative: A Regional Approach to Improving Transfer and Bachelor's Degree Attainment—Pamela K. Fly, Betsy Q. Griffin, Jennifer L. Ivie, Mary A. Millikin, and Emily Tichenor

Addendum A: Phi Theta Kappa: Ensuring Transfer Success and Career Readiness Among Today's College Students—Erin Cogswell

Addendum B: Tau Sigma National Honor Society: Recognizing and Promoting the Academic Excellent and Involvement of Transfer Students—Lee Colquitt

Addendum C: The National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students— Janet Marling 

John N. Gardner

Dr. John N. Gardner is an undergraduate student success thought leader and a social justice advocate. He is Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the non-profit, the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education, co-founded by him and his wife, Betsy O. Barefoot, in 1999. John is also Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Senior Fellow, University of South Carolina at Columbia. He was also the Founding Executive Director of both the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, and the University 101 Programs. He also served as Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for the University's five Regional Campuses.

Subscribe to the Office Hours with John Gardner: Innovation in Higher Education podcast.

Michael J. Rosenberg

Dr. Michael J. Rosenberg is a nationally recognized expert on transfer student policy. He is Director of Planning for Penn State University's Office of Planning, Assessment, and Institutional Research. A higher education practitioner by trade and training, his extensive background includes experience in student affairs, academic advising, judicial affairs, residence life, and enrollment management. As the inaugural Director of Transfer at Gateway Community and Technical College and as Chair of the Kentucky Community & Technical College System’s statewide transfer task force, he helped drive the conversation in his home state around improving outcomes for this important population.

Andrew K. Koch

Dr. Andrew “Drew” K. Koch is the President and Chief Operating Officer for the non-profit John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education, which he joined in 2010. Prior to coming to Gardner Institute, Drew spent nearly 20 years working in both independent and public postsecondary institutions on student enrollment, access, success, accreditation, learning, and completion efforts with an emphasis on first-generation, low-income, and historically underrepresented students. He has served as the principal investigator or co-principal investigator on more than two dozen grant-funded research projects with support coming from sources such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, ECMC Foundation, GEAR UP, Kresge Foundation, Lilly Endowment, Lumina Foundation, and the National Science Foundation.