College Transfer Pathways Project Recap
In our 2015 College Persistence report, PASE outlined the role afterschool plays in ensuring that students get to and through college. Extending that work, through a grant from the Teagle Foundation, we further explored afterschool's role in the college transfer pathway.
Reflections on Practice
During the fall of 2020, PASE facilitated three Reflections on Practice to continue gathering insights and best and promising practices for supporting the college transfer pathway. Thirty-four individuals representing thirty-one organizations participated in the discussions. In attendance were leaders and educators from youth-serving, community-based organizations, higher education administrators and faculty, directors, and program managers from philanthropic foundations. Learning from these sessions informed the content of a forum held in March 2021.
Upon entering college, a huge majority of freshmen (87% of freshmen at CUNY) want to get a Bachelor's Degree but 6 years later, only about 16% have attained it. There is a leaky transfer pipeline.
— Dr. Logue
Forum
Late winter 2021, PASE hosted a forum that highlighted best and promising practices for working with transfer college students. The forum, attended by over 85 community-based organization leaders and educators, higher education administrators and faculty, funders, and department of education personnel, opened with a conversation with Dr. Alexandra W. Logue a research professor at the Center for Advanced Study in Education, Graduate Center, CUNY. Dr. Logue discussed the barriers to successful college transfer, shared recommendations for better advisement, and highlighted research that debunks some myths about the college transfer pathway.
View recording - registration required. The recording includes opening remarks from PASE and the Teagle Foundation. Begins at the 00:14:10 mark.
We need to center the [transfer] conversation and our success work needs to include this - because this is the pathway our students are using.
— Angela Bonato
Panel Discussion with CBO Leaders
The morning also included a panel discussion with community-based organization leaders Angela Bonato, The Fresh Air Fund, Jonathan Chavez, Cypress Hills Local Development Corp, and Emily Jimenez, Queens Community House. Panelists shared best and promising practices for working with college students to support the college transfer pathway, identified obstacles to the transfer process that can derail college students, and suggested ways that college campuses can become more college transfer-friendly.
View recording - registration required. The recording includes opening remarks from PASE and the Teagle Foundation. Begins at the 01:21:12 mark.
Lunch & Learn Mini-Workshops
The day ended with a round of Lunch & Learn mini-workshops.
Transfer Explorer (TREX): Taking a Bite Out of Transfer Credit Misinformation
Led by Chris Vickery, Queens College and Cindy Le, Ithaka S+R, this session highlighted a vital tool in any transfer arsenal. Transfer Explorer (T-Rex) allows students, faculty members, and counselors an opportunity to see how CUNY credits transfer from one CUNY college to another. Participants in this session learned more about the tool and how to best advise students on transfers, reverse transfers, and countering transfer credit misinformation.
TransferNation: Supporting Transfer Success with Peer Mentors
Led by Lisa J. Schwebel, PhD, Brooklyn College, this session looked at the role of peer mentoring in supporting student success particularly in the arena of transfer students. Examining Brooklyn College’s peer mentoring practices for incoming transfer students, Lisa shared the rationale and structure for the program. Participants in the session explored how these practices might be adopted, and adapted, for use in their organization.
Transfer 101
Led by Jesus Lara, New Settlement Apartments College Success Program, this session provided an overview of transfer best practices and covered key strategies for helping college students with the transfer process including core programmatic activities, and advisement best practices.
PASE's project on Afterschool's Role in Supporting the Transfer Pathway to the Baccalaureate included three Reflections on Practice and a Forum. Below find a recap and highlights from the events, including links to resources, video recordings available on-demand via registration, and a brief that summarizes learnings.
Acknowledgments
We gratefully acknowledge the 50 individuals who participated in this initiative, sharing their organizational expertise around the college transfer process, and representing youth-serving nonprofits, K-12 schools, Higher Education, and philanthropy. The organizations they represent are listed below.
Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics (BEAM)
Brooklyn College, CUNY
BUILD NYC
CARA
Charles Hayden Foundation
City University of New York
CUNY Office of K-16 Initiatives
Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation
DREAM
East Harlem Tutorial Program
Figure Skating in Harlem
Graduate Center, CUNY
GraduateNYC
Hunter College, CUNY
Ithaka S+R
Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement House
New Settlement Apartments
New Victory Theater
New York University
New York Urban League
Opening Act, Inc.
Phipps Neighborhoods
Police Athletic League
Publicolor Inc
Queens College, CUNY
Queens Community House
Roads to Success
Row New York
Rutgers University - New Brunswick
South Asian Youth Action, Inc.
StreetSquash
Student Leadership Network
Teagle Foundation
The Boys' Club of New York
The Fresh Air Fund
The Pinkerton Foundation
Zone 126
College Transfer Project Brief
This project brief includes key takeaways from the program and highlights from the forum conversation with Dr. Logue of CUNY Graduate Center. The document also includes questions for community-based organizations to consider when adding transfer conversations and support to their existing college success work to begin assessing their systems, capacity, and expertise—download project brief.
