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A Review and Critique of the Literature on Community College Students’ Transition Processes and Outcomes in Four-Year Institutions

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Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research

Part of the book series: Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research ((HATR,volume 28))

Abstract

The successful transfer of community college students to four-year institutions has been and remains a subject of intense scholarly, policy, and public interest. For a variety of reasons, however, scrutiny of the transfer mission of community colleges, and of the success of community college transfer students in completing baccalaureate degrees, is particularly acute at this time. Unfortunately, the body of literature that informs discourse on community college students’ attainment of baccalaureate degrees disproportionately neglects students’ experiences in the four-year institution and the role of the four-year institution in supporting their success. Moreover, with the exception of a few sustained lines of inquiry, research in this area generally has been fragmented and unsystematic, further limiting the advancement of knowledge. Here, we seek to remedy this problem and provide a foundation for future inquiry by articulating and defining the core concepts in this area, discussing and critiquing the measurement of these concepts, summarizing findings, and offering recommendations for the advancement of future research.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    To be clear, Alba and Lavin (1981) compared community college students and four-year students from several different angles, producing a number of important findings, but the portion of their study that focused on community college students who actually transferred to a four-year institution found minimal differences in baccalaureate attainment, relative to comparable peers who began in a four-year institution.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Brett Griffiths and Inger Bergom to the development of this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education, University of Michigan, Room 2108, 610 E. University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-1259, USA

    Peter Riley Bahr Ph.D.

  2. Joint Program in English and Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-1259, USA

    Christie Toth

  3. Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-1259, USA

    Kathryn Thirolf

  4. Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education and the Department of Sociology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-1259, USA

    Johanna C. Massé

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    Michael B. Paulsen

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Bahr, P.R., Toth, C., Thirolf, K., Massé, J.C. (2013). A Review and Critique of the Literature on Community College Students’ Transition Processes and Outcomes in Four-Year Institutions. In: Paulsen, M. (eds) Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research. Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, vol 28. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5836-0_10

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