Factors that influence community college transfer students' satisfaction with their baccalaureate institutions.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine how academic transfer students' perceptions of the quality of their baccalaureate institution were affected by their experiences on that campus and at the community colleges they attended prior to enrollment. The theoretical framework was grounded in the literature on academic transfer and on college student persistence and took into account key differences in the characteristics of transfer students and the undergraduates on whom much of the persistence literature is based. A key assumption on the model is that there are links between student characteristics and perceptions of the quality of their campuses that may help higher educators understand why certain students attain their degrees after transfer from a community college, whereas others do not. A purposive sample of persisters (students who had completed 30 credit hours at a community college before transfer and a minimum of 100 credit hours of combined community college and baccalaureate coursework) at three distinct baccalaureate institutions was surveyed. The survey included questions about students' educational and career goals, attendance patterns, academic performance, family and employment backgrounds, as well as questions about experiences at their community colleges and baccalaureate institutions and their perceptions of the quality of different aspects of and personal fit with their current campus. The survey data were analyzed separately to take into account differences across campuses. While the predictors of students' perceptions of baccalaureate institution quality varied by campus, there were three that appeared to be key across settings---transfer process information, financial aid, and social integration. Access to accurate information about the transfer process and financial aid directly influenced students' perceptions of quality. Similarly, a sense that they had become part of the organization was a strong predictor of satisfaction. Students' current educational goals, sense of integration and preparation for baccalaureate study, and current academic performance mediated the effects of community college academic performance on quality perceptions. The study results will be useful to administrators with major responsibilities for academic transfer students as well as researchers interested in transfer and persistence to the baccalaureate degree.