Tracking Vertical Transfer Students’ Credits: Changes in Applicability to Degree Requirements

Low bachelor’s degree receipt rates by community college students have been attributed to credit loss arising from vertical transfer. However, there has been limited quantitative study of the association of transfer with credits’ degree-requirement applicability. This research used a novel student record archive to track the degree-requirement applicability of a targeted sample of 796 vertical transfer students’ credits prior to and through transfer. The results show that credits can move in and out of degree applicability at multiple points in a student’s career, not just associated with transfer, that transfer sometimes can be associated with vertical transfer students’ credits becoming degree-requirement applicable, and that articulation between associate and bachelor’s programs can be associated with degree-applicable credit and course transfer. These results can help guide policies that will maximize students’ efficient accumulation of degree-applicable credits.