Student transfer patterns have become less and less linear”earning some students the moniker of swirling students.┬" With more options for where and when they can access and complete courses, these students engage in multiple patterns of attendance, moving between four-year and two-year schools, and between public and private institutions.
Swirling students appear to be following unpredictable enrollment patterns,┬" according to Bruce Clemetsen, Lee Furbeck, and Alicia Moore, who jointly authored the recent SEM Quarterly article Enabling Student Swirl: Understanding the Data and Best Practices for Supporting Transfer Students.┬"
These students may be at a greater risk of not completing a degree”but they don't have to be. Partnerships between institutions as well as college and university support services can help provide swirling students the structure necessary to graduate.
Interstate swirling: The numbers to know
I don't think that most enrollment professionals realize the volume of transfer occurring today,┬" said Furbeck, senior associate director of admissions at the University of Kansas. Transfer is not the exception--it is the norm.┬"
Institutions should know their transfer student data--both in terms of those who transfer in and transfer out, added Moore, dean of student and enrollment services for Central Oregon Community College and senior consultant with AACRAO Consulting. This includes the sheer numbers, as well as demographic trends, academic/major trends, and completion rates,┬" she said.
"Students engaged in different enrollment patterns may have very different goals and need different types of support,┬" Furbeck said. Institutions can assist these students and retain them, remove unintentional barriers and improve graduation/credentialing rates, or increase tuition revenue by catering to them.┬"
According to research by Cliff Adelman and the U.S. Department of Education (1999), 40 percent of students who transferred did so by transferring to an institution in another state, while National Student Clearinhouse Research Center data (2012a) finds 27 percent of all transfer students do so, the SEMQ article noted.
This data raises compelling questions regarding the value of in-state course and program partnerships, and demonstrates the limitations of state-specific reporting metrics,┬" according to the SEMQ article.
To understand the swirling student, institutions need to broaden their knowledge of institutional and national data trends, such as:
- • Destination of transfer;
- • Transfer student characteristics;
- • Rate, timing and frequency of transfer; and
- • Enrollment status of transfers.
Supporting swirling students
Understanding swirling behavior as it applies to their specific institution allows enrollment professionals to make good choices regarding messaging, policy, and allocation of resources,┬" Furbeck said. Transfer students have an important role to play in any enrollment management strategy. An institution with an understanding of transfer student behavior and enrollment patterns can more effectively accomplish institutional goals and assist students in meeting their goals.┬"
In addition to understanding student patterns, institutions must also build strong relationships with other institutions--senders, receivers and co-enrollers--to evaluate enrollment patterns among institutions, adds Clemetsen, Vice President of Student Affairs at Linn-Benton Community College.
"If it works for students, make it transparent and effective," he said. "If it is ineffective, find a way to move students to a more effective path or improve it so more students succeed."
Institutional partnerships are an essential key to accommodating swirling students, according to the article. Institutional partnerships offer an opportunity to establish structures to guide and support a student in utilizing resources at multiple institutions in a manner that supports completion,┬" the authors write.
In addition, both strategic planning and enrollment services on campus can develop practices to help support swirling students. According to the article, best practices often include:
- • Early warning systems;
- • Transition and mentoring programs;
- • Academic advising; and
- • Transfer credit policies.
“Institutions who are truly engaged in SEM planning, know that ‘one size does not fit all’,” Moore said. “Therefore, institutions must consider their transfer student data and customize services for this population, including orientation, advising, certificate or degree planning, and transfer support services—for both transitioning in and helping to best plan the transition out.”
More from the fall issue of SEMQ
Click here to review the abstracts for all articles from the most recent issue of SEMQ, including the following titles:
- • Intentional Transfer: The Four-Year Institutional Role in Community College Transfer Success “ by Bart Grachan
- • Essentials for International Student Enrollment Planning “ by Kent R. Hopkins
- • Strategic University Partnerships for Enrollment Management “ by Luke David Schultheis
- • Searching for SEM Leadership in and by North American Universities “ by Richard A. Skinner
Additional resources
Adelman, C. 1999. Answers in the Tool Box: Academic Intensity, Attendance Patterns, and Bachelor's Degree Attainment.┬" U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/Toolbox/index.html.
National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. (2012a). Transfer & mobility: A national view of student movement in postsecondary institutions. Retrieved from http://www.studentclearinghouse.info/signature/2/NSC_Signature_Report_2.pdf