Publication Number: IB01-1 October 12, 2001
Nearly forty percent of all new UM students are transfer students 
Table 1 (Excel 39 KB.) How likely are those students to graduate? How does their graduation rate compare to first-time freshmen? This study examines those two questions in order to evaluate transfer students' role in the institution, UM's admission policy for transfer students, and UM's comprehensive enrollment management plan.
In 1997, a similar study found that the best predictors of graduation among transfer students were their GPA at the time of transfer, and students transferring to UMR. It also found that transfer minority students were less likely to graduate than white or Asian-American students. It also found that first-time freshmen were more likely to graduate than transfer students.
Two research questions were central to this study:
Answering these question will:
Logistic regression was used to determine which student characteristics helped to predict a transfer student's likelihood of success, defined as graduation.
The study population included all degree-seeking, full-time transfer students to one of UM's campuses during the fall terms of 1991 through 1994. These students had earned at least 24 credit hours before transferring. The number of students studied was 11,150.
To address the second research question, first-time freshmen who entered the university during the fall terms of 1991 through 1994 were identified and tracked until they had finished their third semester, earning at least 24 credit hours. The total number of students was 16,936. The number of credit hours and the students' GPA were then used and compared to transfer students with similar credit hours and GPAs. These students were grouped into four credit hour categories (24-35, 36-47, 48-59, 60 or above), and four GPA categories (less than 2.5, 2.5 to 3.0, 3.0 to 3.5, 3.5 or above).
Table 2 (Excel 26 KB.)Table 3 (Excel 53 KB.)Table 4 (Excel 25 KB.)Table 5 (Excel 28 KB.)Table 6 (Excel 16 KB.)Table 7 (Excel 18 KB.)Table 8 (Excel 22 KB.)Table 9 (Excel 15 KB.) In comparing transfer students with first-time freshmen, first-time freshmen were more likely to graduate than transfer students Table 11 (Excel 29 KB.)
Table 10 (Excel 21 KB)Positively Significant:
Negatively Significant:
Much research has been done on the assimilation of traditional first-time freshmen. This study highlights the need for further investigation and focus on the assimilation of transfer students, especially minorities and those majoring in the sciences. It also suggests that it may be important for UM to develop orientation programs that address the unique concerns of transferring minority students and for those transferring students majoring in the sciences.
Current assumptions expect students transferring from two-year colleges to have higher success rates than those from four-year colleges. The study found that transferring from a two- or four-year institution had little impact on the likelihood of graduation, except in the case of those with an associate's degree where it had a negative impact.
In recent years, first-time freshmen admission standards have increased while transfer admission standards have remained static. Concerns over the likelihood of graduation for transfers appear to be legitimate. In fact, the success gap tends to be widening.
The study's results reinforce the importance of collecting additional information about transfer students before it revises its transfer admission policy. Further, it suggests other factors be considered than the traditional admissions criteria, including transfer GPA.
