“Community College Transfer and Articulation Policies: Looking Beneath the Surface”
Researchers at the University of Washington’s Bothell campus sought to find out what kinds of state policies were successful in moving more students from two- to four-year colleges. They examined state requirements such as having their public two-year and four-year colleges share common course numbering, or common general-education requirements.
Surprisingly, the researchers found that having those kinds of “strong” transfer and articulation policies in place did not seem to have a positive effect on transfer rates from two- to four-year colleges.
The researchers did find two areas that appear to be associated with higher transfer rates, however. More students transfer when state articulation and transfer policies include more private schools than when the policies are restricted to state institutions, or only the flagship state institution, the researchers found.
