Transfer enrollment represents 13.2 percent of all continuing and returning undergraduates in fall 2023. The number of students who transferred into a new institution in fall 2023 grew 5.3 percent in fall 2023 compared to fall 2022 (+62,600), driven by students transferring from a two-year institution to a four-year institution (upward transfer, +7.7%).
As the ninth report in the series, this edition highlights notable transfer enrollment changes and student persistence post-transfer over a two-year period since the pandemic started, disaggregated by academic year, student demographic characteristics, and institution sector and selectivity.
This third report on transfer and mobility examines multiple transfer pathways for the cohort of students who started postsecondary education in fall 2011. It analyzes student enrollment patterns across different institutions and across state boundaries, including — for the first time — disaggregations by race and ethnicity.
Key community college metrics are provided for three areas — college access and persistence, transfer and mobility, and certificate and degree completion — which are important indicators of community college progress.
This second report on transfer and mobility, examines multiple transfer pathways for the cohort of students who started postsecondary education in 2008. It reveals how student enrollment patterns that involve multiple movements among two or more institutions and across state boundaries has become the new normal, demonstrating the need for a comprehensive view of student transfer and mobility to inform education policymaking and institutional improvement efforts.
Nationally, 14.6 percent of all 2013-14 college graduates attended college in at least one other state or territory in the 10 years prior to receiving a credential.
Just over 9% of all students attended more than one institution during the 2012-13 academic year. Overall, student mobility rates increased from 2010-11 to 2011-12, and then stabilized in 2012-13.
On average, 15.1 percent of all U.S. postsecondary students who received undergraduate degrees in 2010-11 had previously attended college in at least one other state or territory. The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center has identified the percentage of undergraduate degree completers in the 2010-11 academic year who had prior enrollments in at least one other state or territory.
In our second Signature Report, we analyze students’ transfer behaviors to better understand their postsecondary pathways. A detailed view of transfer rates is critical in helping institutions and policymakers develop strategies and policies that facilitate successful outcomes.
According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, 8% of students attended more than one postsecondary institution in 2010-2011. The most mobile students were those with both full- and part-time statuses, with 17.2% of these students attending more than one institution during a single year.