Barriers to Transfer Student Academic Success and Retention

Abstract

The Transition to College Inventory (TCI) designed to identify patterns of noncognitive factors related to academic performance and persistence was adapted and validated for use with first-year transfer students in a university setting. In this study, 369 entering transfer students were surveyed during Transfer Preview, an orientation program for transfer students. This study confirmed that noncognitive factors can be used to predict academic success and persistence for first-year transfer students. A major finding was that the barriers differed between freshman, sophomore, and upper division (junior/senior) transfer students. The results of this study show promise in giving four-year institutions the ability to identify at-risk transfer students, pin-pointing areas of needs for intervention.