Of the many findings in the report, titled “Transfer & Mobility: A National View of Student Movement in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2008 Cohort,” one that jumps out is the large extent to which community colleges are actually a destination — and not merely a departure point — for students who transfer from one institution to another.
“Two-year public institutions are the top mobility destination for students who start in four-year institutions,” the report states. “More than half (51.3 percent) of those transferring from a four-year public institution moved to a two-year public institution.
“Over 40 percent of those who transferred from four-year private institutions headed to community colleges.”
Michelle Asha Cooper, president at the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP), said the fact that community college is a top destination for four-year students suggests that community colleges are fulfilling student needs that are apparently not being met at their respective four-year institutions.
“As soon as I saw that, it said to me one of two things,” Cooper said. “One is they [students] can’t afford to stay in a four-year institution, or the four-year institutions may not have the right types of support, so they then go to a two-year institution to have more flexibility, different classes and things like that.
“On a policy level, we do have to ask ourselves some questions around affordability and institutional support,” Cooper said, “that, to me, this report highlights as possible indicators as to why these patterns are so pronounced.”
