Comparison of academic statistics of two-year college transfer and native fisheries and wildlife students at the university of Missouri

As an increasing number of high school graduates take advantage of less-stringent economic and entrance requirements offered through two-year colleges, concern is mounting at the University of Missouri (MU) and other major universities about the ability of two-year college transfer students to compete in advanced, preprofessional curricula such as Fisheries and Wildlife. We assessed the validity of this concern by examining the academic histories of two-year college transfer students (n=21), students transferring into our department from another MU program (n=23), and students who had enrolled in Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences (FW) as freshmen (n=56). Two-year college transfer students were less likely to complete the degree program in Fisheries and Wildlife than native students or transfer students from another department at MU. Students transferring to MU from two-year colleges had lower overall grade-point averages (GPA) at graduation and lower GPAs in advanced professional courses, than native or other MU transfers. At graduation, both two-year college and MU transfers had taken substantially more credit hours than native FW students. For students wishing to complete a B.S. degree in Fisheries and Wildlife, the decision to begin their studies at two-year colleges might have academic and career costs; furthermore, anticipated reduction in economic costs may not be realized as hours required to graduate mount

Academic Performance in Writing Intensive Courses: Can We Better Prepare Transfer Students?

The Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences (FWS) at the University of Missouri is experiencing an increase in the number community college transfer students. Previously we reported data indicating these students, on average, do not succeed academically as well students who begin their college experience at MU. We are strongly committed to understanding why these students may encounter academic difficulty and designing academic programs to help them succeed. The Columbia campus of the University of Missouri requires all students to take 2 “writing intensive” (or “writing-across-the-curriculum”) courses, one of which must be in the student’s chosen academic major