The Effectiveness of a Statewide Articulation Agreement for First-Generation College Students that Transfer from a Mid-Western, Two-Year Institution to a Mid-Western, Four-Year Institution

The recession beginning in 2007 created a dramatic decline in employment opportunities. As the economy improved, the jobs that were added required more technical knowledge. Two-year and four-year educational institutions have made agreements called articulation agreements to help students transfer from one institution to another in order to increase degree attainment and therefore technical knowledge. First-generation students, defined as students whose parents did not attend a post-secondary institution, make up a large portion of the student population at two-year institutions. Due to this large population of first-generation college students at two-year institutions, it is important to examine if the articulation agreements that are in place are as effective for first-generation college students as they are for non-first-generation college students. The aim of this study was to develop a plan to increase the effectiveness of the transfer process. Using quantative data from databases at the Mid-western, four-year institution, the number of credits and semesters to completion of both first-generation and non-first-generation students were analyzed as well as the number of students completing a bachelor’s degree after transfer from each group of students. Additionally, interviews were conducted with both first-generation and non-first-generation transfer students to examine the perceptions and experiences of students in the transfer process. Although no significant difference was noted in the number of credits or semesters to completion between the two groups of students, first-generation students completed their bachelor’s degree at a significantly lower rate. In order to increase the effectiveness of the transfer process, an intrusive mentoring and advising plan was described.

Grantor dc:publisher

Creighton University

Year dc:date.issued

2016

Author dc:creator

• Fickas, Julie

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Grassmeyer, Kimberly

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright is retained by the Author. A non-exclusive distribution right is granted to Creighton University and to ProQuest following the publishing model selected above.

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10504/85529

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:cdr.creighton.edu:10504/85529