Research and Reports
Program Reports
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“The Interstate Passport® is built around the general education core because that is the part of a degree that most colleges and universities have in common.
That commonality is no coincidence. Lengthy discussion over time among educators, employers, and others have led to agreement that today’s ‘general education’ plays a critical role in preparation for students’ major programs of study, as well as for life as employees or entrepreneurs and as citizens of our communities and our country. How does general education do that? And is it the same everywhere?”
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Only faculty have the experience and expertise to determine what learning outcomes should result from general education. By gathering faculty together for conversations about student learning, we find much common ground about objectives and outcomes across disciplines and between institutions. Faculty engagement and expertise were crucial to the development of an Interstate Passport program.
Transfer Data by State
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Data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (NSCRC) on the number of students at public institutions who transferred in the United States and its territories both in-state and out-of-state for the 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012 cohorts. Data is viewable collectively and by state.
Internal Research
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This paper provides a high-level overview of today’s transfer marketplace, including its general characteristics and impact on degree completion. It looks at how the Interstate Passport’s new block transfer framework can streamline the transfer process for lower-division general education, providing benefits to both students and institutions. And it highlights how the results of the Interstate Passport and other state and national initiatives addressing academic quality may help transfer students have coherent learning experiences that ensure their academic progress.
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The Interstate Passport Initiative, launched in October 2011, initially as a regional project of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), addresses the problems of interstate student transfer. In the two-year pilot project (Phase I), working with 23 institutions in five Western states – California, Hawaii, North Dakota, Oregon and Utah – the initiative produced a new transfer framework that is based on learning outcomes.
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This report presents context and background of the Interstate Passport Initiative by examining the student transfer picture of the fall 2006 cohort in the 15 WICHE states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawai’i, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming).
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This document provides an overview of the current policies around the lower-division general education core in the WICHE states and presents the general education credits required in each state. By examining the existing policies and conducting our pilot project, we hoped to highlight particular policies or practices that may be effective models for exploration and replication by other states, identify where some strategies might need to change in order to support the new transfer framework, and pinpoint likely places where the Interstate Passport Initiative may be expanded.
External Research
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National Bureau of Economic Research, June 2020
Results of a survey of 1500 students at a single large institution showed delays in graduation; losses of job, internship, and job offers; and lowered future expectations. Impacts were greater for lower-income students.
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By: M. Wilson, J. Karon, & R. Alamuddin, June 2020
This report examines how collaboration between community colleges and independent four-year colleges can be beneficial to transfer students and institutions. It looks at specific academic strategies including articulation agreements, major-specific pathways, and transfer portals. The report also discusses cultural strategies including tailored orientation, decreased enrollment barriers, and dedicated campus space for transfer students. Financial strategies to support transfer students, such as dedicated financial aid and fee reduction, are also examined.
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By: J. Barshay, June 2020
This article explores the results of RP Group’s findings in a study on transfer from community colleges in California. Although about 300,000 students in the 2010-2015 time period had completed 60 credit hours or were one course away from doing so and maintained a “C” average, they did not transfer to a four-year institution, and more than half dropped out without an associate degree or other credential. Some of the most common causes are discussed.
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McKinsey & Company, May 2020
This report on a survey of students in late April 2020, shows changes in first choice school for fall 2020 and unease, at that time, with continued remote learning.
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By: K. Mangran, April 2020
This Chronicle issue brief analyzes which approaches are working to ease transfer between two-year and four-year institutions and provides practical advice on how to remove barriers standing in students’ way. Topics include why transfer success matters, common barriers and innovative solutions to transfer challenges, case studies on how institutions are collaborating to help transfer students, and commentary on the value of community colleges to students and academe’s broader goals.
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By: The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 2019
This collection of eight articles and essays examines steps colleges and universities are taking to help the transfer population. Topics include simplifying transfer from two-year to four-year institutions, why transfer students need better academic roadmaps and guidance on credits, ways to revamp orientation for non-traditional undergraduates, and more.
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By: The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 2019
This collection of eight articles and essays examines steps colleges and universities are taking to help the transfer population. Topics include simplifying transfer from two-year to four-year institutions, why transfer students need better academic roadmaps and guidance on credits, ways to revamp orientation for non-traditional undergraduates, and more.
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National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, July 2018
“This third report on transfer and mobility examines multiple transfer pathways for the cohort of students who started postsecondary education in fall 2011. It analyzes student enrollment patterns across different institutions and across state boundaries, including, for the first time, disaggregations by race and ethnicity.”
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By: The Campaign for College Opportunity, September 2017
Highlights the critical role transfer plays in producing college graduates and providing economic opportunity.
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By: Nick Strayer. New York Times, August 26, 2017
A recent article in the New York Times reports that the number of out-of-state freshmen attending public colleges and universities has nearly doubled since 1986. The Great Out-of-State Migration: Where Students Go (August 26, 2017) presents 2014 data from the U.S. Department of Education that shows the flow of students for each state: the number who leave for college elsewhere, and the number of students coming in from other states.
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By: Government Accounting Office, August 2017
This report provides baseline data both about the number of students who change colleges and about the cost to those students and to taxpayers when those students lose credits.
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By: Michael Itzkowitz, The Third Way, July 2017
A new report from Third Way, a public policy and advocacy organization, makes urgent the need for an effective and affordable higher education system – stating that higher education “is now a necessity, not a luxury.” State of American Higher Education Outcomes by Michael Itzkowitz (July 2017) illustrates that achieving better postsecondary outcomes must be a priority for policymakers.
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By: Douglas Shapiro, Afet Dundar, F. Huie, P.K. Wakhungu, X. Yuan, A. Nathan & Y, Hwang. National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, September 2017
“This report is an update of the January 2016 Transfer Tracking report, which was a collaboration among the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, the Community College Research Center (CCRC) at Teachers College, Columbia, and Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program. The first in an annual series from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, this report investigates postsecondary student transfer outcomes in order to provide institutions and states with metrics for benchmarking and measuring community college student completion progress. Findings reveal that out of 852,439 students who first enrolled at a community college in fall 2010, 31.5 percent (268,749) transferred to a four-year institution within six years. Forty-two percent of those who transferred earned a bachelor’s degree within six years of starting in the community college (just 13 percent of the original starting cohort). “
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U.S. Government Accountability Office, August 2017
Using Department of Education data, this report “examined (1) transfer rates and challenges students face in transferring credits, (2) the possible financial implications of transfer, and (3) the extent to which students are provided with transfer information to help them plan their college path.”
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The Consequences of Inefficient Transfer for Community College Students Seeking Bachelor’s Degrees
By: Clive R. Belfield, John Fink, and Davis Jenkins, Community College Research Center, May 2017
“For many students who intend to complete a bachelor’s degree, the savings from starting their undergraduate education at a community college is a major factor in their college choice. Yet, given inefficiencies in pathways through college and in the credit transfer process, initially attending a two-year college may be a false economy. In this paper we investigate whether it is more efficient for students to start at a two-year or four-year college if their intent is to complete a bachelor’s degree.”
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American Council on Education: Center for Policy Research and Strategy; Hobsons
“This brief is the first in a series of three, exploring outcomes for recent high school graduates who begin their postsecondary education in one of our nation’s more than 1,100 community colleges. For years, practitioners, researchers, and policymakers have been concerned by the fact that too few students successfully navigate the complex process of transferring from a two- to four-year institution. As such, we explored student- and institutional-level factors that influence the likelihood of upward transfer for students who enroll in community college directly after high school. Drawing from the results of a multilevel regression model and supporting literature, we conclude by recommending five strategies for high school educators, faculty and staff at colleges and universities, and policymakers to consider to increase upward transfer rates.”
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Davis Jenkins and John FInk, Community College Research Center 2016
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By: Shoumi Mustafa and Paula Compton, Ohio Public Institutions of Higher Education, August 2016
How does the AP policy influence academic outcomes of policy beneficiaries? This report is an update of a previous study with new data on additional cohorts of freshman students.
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By Ellie Austin, Amy Henson, and Craig Wiroll, Department of Planning, Public Policy, and Management, University of Oregon, June 2016
Requested by the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission, this report provides quantitative and qualitative data on the barriers affecting students in their transfer of credits from two- to four-year higher education institutions in Oregon. Through focus groups of students and administrators and online surveys, the research team identified four major barriers facing transfer students: (1) no or inadequate advising; (2) perceived lack of support services after transfer; (3) misunderstanding of financial aid; and (4) lack of coordinated, meaningful, and accurate information about transfer requirements. The report provides research findings, analysis and recommendations for improving the transfer process. A must-read for campus advisors and transfer specialists.
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By: Nick Strayer, The New York Times, August 26, 2016
”Declines in state support for public universities have helped reshape the geography of public college admissions, leading many students to attend universities far from home, where they pay higher, out-of-state tuition. An analysis of migration patterns among college freshmen shows the states students leave each year and where they go.”
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By: Inside Higher Ed, April 14, 2015
”College degrees have, for years, been defined by credits earned in courses – with certain combinations of credits necessary (in the major, general education and so forth) to earn a degree. Increasingly though, credentials are being viewed in new and different ways. Some experts say that existing models don’t say enough about the capabilities graduates possess. Some favor enhancing the credential and others would like to eliminate it. Competency-based education is central to this debate, but so are such topics as badging, internships, experiential education, testing and more. The articles in this booklet examine some of these trends, with opinion pieces providing additional perspective.”
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By: The National Student Clearinghouse, Spring 2015
”Nationally 14.6 percent of all 2013-14 college graduates attended college in at least one other state or territory in the 10 years prior to receiving a credential. The comparable figure for 2010-11 graduates was 13.9 percent. As shown in the map, for each state and territory, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center has calculated the percentage of undergraduate credential completers in the 2013-14 academic year who had prior enrollments in at least one other state or territory. The median per state/territory was 17.5 percent.”
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By: D. Jenkins and J. Fink, January 2015
This review of research on transfer confirms that two-year to four-year transfer is an important route to a baccalaureate degree for underserved students, but that loss of credits is a significant barrier to completion. It concludes that, “ensuring students can transfer credits efficiently has the potential to substantially raise college attainment and thereby contribute to upward mobility.”
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By: Phyllis “Teddi” Safman, Working Draft, November, 2014
The Utah System of Higher Education is currently, and has been, engaged in one regional and four national initiatives: The Western Interstate Passport Initiative, Tuning USA, the Quality Collaborative, the Multi-State Collaborative to Advance Learning Outcomes and Assessment, and the Liberal Education for America’s Promise initiative. The purpose of this paper is to explain how the initiatives converge with one another on issues such as the culture of higher education, particularly teaching, learning, and assessment.
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By: Simone, S. A. August, 2014
This report examines how often and under what conditions postsecondary institutions accept the transfer of credits earned by students at other institutions. It examines how characteristics of institutions (i.e., control, level, accreditation, and selectivity) and students (i.e., grade point average and degree/award level of program) are related to credit transfer.
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By: Phyllis “Teddi” Safman, Working Draft, May 8, 2013
Neither the credit hour nor the assignment of a letter grade upon completion of a course can tell us much about what students have learned. The credit hour, a proxy for learning and still the coin of the higher education realm, cannot tell us exactly what students know and are able to demonstrate as a function of learning. Letter grades tell us nothing about integrated and complex learning, nor the rigor expected in a course or program; instead, letter grades provide only a comparison that represents some assumed level of mastery.
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By: Hezel Associates and WICHE, June, 2010
A joint publication by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education and Hezel Associates, Promising Practices in Statewide Articulation and Transfer Systems highlights state efforts in statewide articulation and transfer. The publication offers promising practices and policy recommendations, which are the result of a research study that includes a literature review, scan of publicly available information, surveys, and interviews with key education officials.
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By: Alicia C. Dowd, Lindsey E. Malcom, and Elsa E. Macias, March, 2010
“This report is intended to inform the capacity-building effort by highlighting the role of Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) in producing Latino STEM baccalaureates.” Although the report does not directly concern the Passport, it underscores the need to fix the transfer system.
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