College Transfer Enrollment Plummeted Another 7% Last Year; Biggest Drops for Low-Income, Female & Asian Students
Disparate transfer enrollment declines pose stark demographic implications for four-year universities, experts say
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As a Pakistani immigrant and first generation college student, Nabiha Sheikh completed her associate degree from Lone Star College in Texas unaware of how difficult her transfer to a four-year university would be.
Sheikh experienced several hurdles, from losing community college credits to inconsistent academic advising, after transferring twice during the pandemic.
鈥淲hen COVID hit, a lot of the resources I needed were cut off,鈥� Sheikh told 成人抖阴. 鈥淚t was a bit of a struggle because I didn’t know the system very well, plus my parents never went to school here, so I was lost figuring out this process.鈥�
As a South Asian immigrant woman, Sheikh鈥檚 experience speaks to the thousands of transfer students from marginalized communities who鈥檝e had a difficult time achieving their dream to earn a four-year degree.
According to a new report from the , college transfer enrollment declined by 7.5 percentage points in fall 2022 and 14.5 percentage points since fall 2020 鈥� the equivalent of 37,600 and 78,500 students respectively.
The steepest transfer enrollment drops were observed among lower income students who declined by 10.8 percentage points since fall 2019 鈥� the equivalent of 225,200 students.
There was also a disparate enrollment drop for female transfer students compared to their male counterparts with a decline of 3.5 and 0.7 percentage points respectively in fall 2022 鈥� adding to an overall decline of 9.2 and 3.9 percentage points since fall 2020.
In addition, transfer enrollment fell significantly for Asian, White and Native American students by 8, 6.1 and 3.5 percentage points respectively in fall 2022 鈥� adding to an overall drop of 14.8, 12.2 and 7.8 percentage points since fall 2020.
鈥淓ven before the pandemic, that path from community colleges to four-year institutions was riddled with complexities and barriers that would hamstring even the most persistent students,鈥� director Tania LaViolet told 成人抖阴.
鈥淪o when you get the extreme hardships from the last few years and an experience that already isn鈥檛 built with you in mind, those things compound鈥nd reflect the data we鈥檙e seeing.鈥�
LaViolet said the inequities for lower income students to attend four-year universities needs more attention from policymakers and state leaders.
鈥淲e know it isn’t a matter of if the talent is out there,鈥� LaViolet said. 鈥淪o how can we design better practices that serve the needs of lower income transfers? There are institutions out there who have done it, but the data shows it鈥檚 not happening at scale.鈥�
LaViolet also said the disparities in female transfer enrollment doesn鈥檛 surprise her.
鈥淓specially for those who are parenting students, who have families to care for and who have jobs, those real life circumstances combined with a challenging educational environment make it difficult for women to realize their educational goals,鈥� LaViolet said.
Jeff Gold, the associate vice chancellor at the , agreed with LaViolet.
鈥淲hen a pandemic hits, there’s existential challenges that come first and foremost if you’re caring for a family member, if you’re sick yourself or if you’ve got to go back to work,鈥� Gold told 成人抖阴. 鈥淏ut there’s certainly one that鈥檚 clear 鈥� child rearing responsibilities are disproportionately on the female side.鈥�
Gold also said it鈥檚 troubling how transfer enrollment drops are not shared equally by students of all racial and ethnic backgrounds.
鈥淲e have to remember that we’re still living in incredibly tumultuous times, so there’s a context behind these numbers and they’re not out of the blue,鈥� Gold told 成人抖阴. 鈥淪o the fact that the drops for our most historically marginalized students are much larger than our other students is incredibly troubling.鈥�
John Fink, senior research associate at the , pointed out how transfer enrollment drops may 鈥渂e slowing, but are still moving in the wrong direction.鈥�
Looking forward, Fink believes these enrollment drops have implications for four-year universities that rely on transfer students as a core part of their enrollment strategy.
鈥淔our-year institutions have really taken transfer students for granted,鈥� Fink told 成人抖阴. 鈥淭his really should be a wake up call for them to rethink and focus on how they can better partner with their community colleges.鈥�
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