Research Proposal

Michelle Fraser
Professor Goeller
Research in Disciplines: College!
February 26, 2013
Research Proposal

Working Title: Decreasing transfer shock
Topic

I will explore how transferring from a community college to a four year school affects students. The paper will discuss effects such as credit transfer, financial burden, as well as adjustment issues.

The Research Question
           What are the barriers that students face transferring from a community college to a four year university? How can these barriers be reduced or eliminated? Such as “in Florida, a legislatively mandated system standardizes more than 120,000 courses offered at its 28 community colleges, 10 state universities and some private colleges. The state also has a common core and a prerequisite course-list that further eases transfer for students.” As well as “Tennessee joined the list with the Complete College Tennessee Act of 2010, which mandates that schools develop a “60 hour set of classes, 41 general education and 19 pre-major, that will be fully transferable by the Fall 2011 semester.”
For states that don’t help out students or have a program in action, should ensure that their students get the right advice on what to take can be crucial for students.

Theoretical frame
There have been many states that attempt to help student who transfer from a community college to a four year institution in regards to credits.

Research and Plan
           The state of New Jersey has a system in place called the New Jersey Statewide Transfer Agreement which is the supposed to be “seamless transition from public associate to public baccalaureate degree programs and supporting the successful acquisition of baccalaureate degrees by transfer students.” The biggest problem that students face is the transferring of credits from a two year institution to a four year institution. The NJSTA was adopted in 2008 in order to ensure that the transfer process would be easier for students. "But when only some credits were accepted, the degree-completion rate fell to 42 percent. And more than half of the students who transfer to four-year institutions receive only partial credit for their previous coursework." (Zamani) Students expect to go to a community college inorder to save some money and students, like myself, attend community college with intent to attend a four year school. There are many acts in place that allow students to transfer all credits from a community college to a four year state institution. When transferring from a public school to a state school, students expect all their credits to transfer, but some of them don't which could cause  a lot of frustration.     
The next barrier students face is the financial burden. Students who attend community colleges with intent to attend a four year institution, go to community college to save money. Little do we know, we could be wasting our money by attending a community college. Students who attend community college could be misadvised and steered in the wrong direction which could ultimately cause a waste of money and more accumulated debt.
Another problem that students might face is receiving loans that help with the financial burden put on students. "The lack of financial resources is one of many barriers facing community college students who are attending, persisting, and, in some cases, ultimately transferring to four-year institutions."(Zamani) Students who are anticipating transferring to a four year institution might not be able to do so because of barriers such as lack of financial resources. Some students just aren't financially able to pay for a four-year institution, no matter how academically good the student is. "Students coming from low socioeconomic backgrounds are at a disadvantage, as the costs associated with higher education may prohibit even the most talented two-year students from successfully transferring into a baccalaureate degree program" (Zamani)  This is very unfortunate because every student deserves a chance to get an education, especially those that work hard for it.
The third barrier that students face is the adjustment of a four year institution. Students who transfer from a community college to a large four year institution usually deal with something called transfer shock. Transfer shock could cause students to feel isolated and depressed. Students might also feel lost if attending a large four year institution. Navigation around a four year campus could be challenging. For this section and some of the others I will be reading parts of Vaughn Tolands book called Community College Transfer Student Integration.
Zamani, Eboni M. "Institutional Responses to Barriers." 2001.