Between two campuses: an exploratory study of student adjustment after participation in a concurrent enrollment transfer program

The linear path once followed by community college transfer students is outmoded as multiple institutional attendance has become commonplace. The purpose of the present study was to compare and measure the perception of academic and social adjustment for former concurrent enrollment transfer students with traditional vertical transfers at a research intensive, highly selective university. The concurrent enrollment program was designed to introduce students to the four-year institution’s rigor and expectations, while maintaining close faculty contact through small class sizes at the community college. Moreover, participants could live on the university campus, attend university student-only functions, as well as receive advising from both institutions. Through the application of the Laanan-Transfer Students’ Questionnaire (L-TSQ), the study also sought to measure knowledge accumulation at the community college for both concurrent enrollment and vertical transfer students. The results of the study indicate that concurrent enrollment transfer students, overall, did not perceive themselves as academically or socially adjusted to the university after transferring. However, members of underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups were more likely to feel academically and socially adjusted. Practical implications for institutional leaders to establish a more transfer-receptive culture are provided