ACADEMIC OUTCOMES OF ASSOCIATE DEGREE TRANSFER STUDENTS FROM SELECTED TWO-YEAR CAMPUSES TO A PUBLIC URBAN RESEARCH UNIVERSITY IN THE NORTHEAST U.S: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS USING ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT RECORD DATA

Abstract

This study examined academic outcomes for associate degree transfer students at an urban, public research university in the Northeast United States. In particular, this study examined differences in rates of retention, rates of graduation, and cumulative upper-division grade point average (GPA) at graduation between associate degree transfers and direct-entry undergraduates at the same institution, taking into account the two-year college attended. This approach provides a lens into campus effects, considering the profiles of associate degree transfers from identified two-year colleges to search for similarities and differences in academic outcomes for transfers by two-year college attended. The study relied on student-level information in academic administrative unit records for all students from 2012 to 2018.  The data made available for the study are routinely collected data and used for institutional purposes as well as state and federal reporting.  Selected restricted populations for analysis comprised associate degree transfers commencing studies in 2014 and direct-entry undergraduates commencing studies in 2012 who had completed the equivalent of two years of full-time study by 2014.  Information on attendance and academic performance to 2018 was available for analysis.  Coverage provided cell sizes sufficient to support separate analyses of the outcomes of associate degree transfers for each of two urban public two-year colleges. Detailed analyses, consisting of descriptive statistics, chi-square analyses, multivariate regression, and propensity score matching, generated results to respond to and inform two research questions: Research Question 1: Do rates of retention, bachelor’s completion, and cumulative upper-division GPA at graduation differ between first-time public two-year college transfers with associate degrees and otherwise similar direct-entry undergraduates at a public, urban research university in the Northeast, by the two-year college attended? Research Question 2: Do rates of retention, bachelor’s completion, and cumulative upper-division GPA at graduation differ between first-time public two-year college transfers with associate degrees and otherwise similar direct-entry undergraduates, by selected student attributes, and career/field choices and the two-year college attended? While broadly aligned with prior research, the study yielded several detailed results and nuanced findings of interest. First, relatively large differences in retention rates and graduation rates between associate degree transfers and direct-entry undergraduates entering their third year of study tend to narrow when account is taken of student attributes (racial/ethnic background, gender, Pell grant status) and academic variables (lower division grade point average, STEM field).   However, this overall tendency differs in extent when academic performance is examined separately by the two-year college attended. Second, student attributes and academic variables (e.g. Pell grant recipient) were as important as associate degree transfer status in accounting for variation in retention rates and six-year graduation rates. Third, differences in academic performance (by cumulative upper-division GPA) tended to be modest, with somewhat larger, more meaningful differences for sub-groups. Fourth, results of propensity score matching offer some evidence that, at the participating public urban research university, few direct-entry undergraduates (retained to the third year) are “otherwise similar” but for transfer status to associate degree transfers.  While the results owe in part to the study design and data limitations, they provide some support for consideration of policies and practices targeted at associate degree transfers. Fifth, associate degree transfers were much less likely than direct-entry undergraduates (commencing the equivalent of a third year of study) to pursue STEM as a field