Heavy declines in enrollment by transfer students

In the most recent National Student Clearinghouse Research Center brief, transfer enrollment for Spring 2022 is in serious retreat. The level of upward transfer (from community college to 4-year) is down substantially. The enrollment by transfer students age 25-29 is down by 16% in 2022 and by nearly 23% over two years. The enrollment by those transfer students age 30 and up is down by 11% and 14% over two years. These are enormous losses that are rooted in the decline in community college enrollment.

Much is needed here to overcome these difficult trends. It makes sense to pay attention to the work of the Aspen Institute on enhancing transfer success. We can do a lot to enable transfer student success, including using all passing credits in the bachelor's degree plan. Transfer students lose one full semester of credits, on average, at transfer. This is unacceptable. Getting serious about effectively serving transfer students needs to be at the top of our agenda.