Social Capital, Socioeconomic Status, and Community College Transfer Student Persistence

Download or read book Social Capital, Socioeconomic Status, and Community College Transfer Student Persistence written by Gregory Martin Bouck and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: American students are increasingly beginning higher education pursuits at community colleges before transferring to four-year universities. The purpose of this study was to identify differences in persistence rates between those students who participated in a transfer transition program and those who did not. The researcher adopted a mixed-methods modified replication research design that utilized the quantitative methodology of the original study being replicated, and extended findings with individual perspectives gained through qualitative inquiry. The study examined one cohort of community college transfer students who matriculated at a four-year university in the fall of 2010. Findings revealed that participation in the transition program investigated in this study had seemingly little effect on the persistence rates of transfer students. However, the study identified factors beyond transfer transition program participation that influenced student persistence. Personal interviews of community college transfer students revealed that precollege characteristics, academic integration, and social involvement and their related concepts of relationship building, course design, and learning communities each aided in student retention and persistence. Institutions of higher learning may utilize these findings in an effort to increase transfer student persistence.