Four-year College Transfer from

Virginia Community College System

Every four-year college and university in the Commonwealth that offers undergraduate programs has some kind of transfer agreement with Virginia's public two-year colleges. Transfer offers an affordable entry point to higher education with a variety of benefits to the student beyond cost. These benefits include additional academic support for those who may not feel "college-ready" or for those who are several years beyond high school graduation. Another benefit is that every Virginian is within an hour drive of a community college - one does not have to "go away" to go to college.

Transfer, though, is not seamless. In order to improve student success, and recognize when and where success is occurring, two-year colleges that produce transfer students and four-year colleges that receive them, need to be in a partnership to provide feedback to one another. This report is designed to provide that feedback, primarily to the two-year colleges, however, four-year colleges will find these data useful as well.

Each section below provides an overview of a specific aspect of transfer. There are links embedded to guide the user to greater detail.

Numbers of Transfers

The number of transfers annually from a two-year college, is an important base from which to begin analysis. We break those annual totals down into broad categories of race/ethnicity (majority students, students of color) and subdivide those by gender. In this way we develop a sense of the scope overall trends of transfer over eight eight years. Please note that there is always a lag in the most recent year of data available since students starting college in the spring semester are included in these cohorts and annual enrollment files are reported well after the fact.
To explore more about students who transfer...

Virginia Community College System

Students Transferring from Virginia Community College System in the Fall and Spring of the Designated Year

	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
a. Total Transfers	13,593	13,228	12,666	12,595	11,848	11,564
b. Men - Total	6,176	5,936	5,651	5,564	5,156	5,054
c. Women - Total	7,416	7,292	7,015	7,023	6,692	6,506
d. Majority Students - Total	7,590	7,306	6,910	6,927	6,319	6,176
e. Majority Students - Men	3,529	3,373	3,179	3,148	2,821	2,813
f. Majority Students - Women	4,060	3,933	3,731	3,774	3,498	3,360
g. Students of Color - Total	6,003	5,922	5,756	5,668	5,529	5,388
h. Students of Color - Men	2,647	2,563	2,472	2,416	2,335	2,241
i. Students of Color - Women	3,356	3,359	3,284	3,249	3,194	3,146

Notes:

Full Legal Name - "Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University" (Virginia Tech); "The College of William and Mary" (William & Mary)

Where did they Transfer?

The next question of interest "Where did they Transfer" is answered below, also with annual counts. This provides important information to the two-year college and the public about the predominant transfer routes taken by students.
To explore even more about students who transfer...

Virginia Community College System
All Students
Students Transferring from Virginia Community College System
in Fall and Spring of the Designated Year

Color variation represents the low to high variation within each column.

	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
Public Institutions
Christopher Newport University (details)	128	127	122	124	109	110
George Mason University (details)	3,577	3,517	3,428	3,485	3,326	3,155
James Madison University (details)	764	710	662	658	682	677
Longwood University (details)	174	154	128	155	103	116
Norfolk State University (details)	302	245	267	209	185	181
Old Dominion University (details)	1,994	1,962	1,909	2,017	1,761	1,781
Radford University (details)	608	547	571	518	551	555
University of Mary Washington (details)	355	313	313	320	242	282
University of Virginia (details)	423	435	457	494	484	451
University of Virginia's College at Wise (details)	98	75	52	93	47	47
Virginia Commonwealth University (details)	1,610	1,653	1,509	1,561	1,509	1,354
Virginia Military Institute (details)	25	18	15	15	5	5
Virginia State University (details)	125	122	126	114	142	137
Virginia Tech (details)	707	801	756	812	772	793
William & Mary (details)	98	86	94	102	126	100
Total Public Four-Year Institutions (details)	10,988	10,765	10,409	10,677	10,044	9,744
Private Institutions
George Washington University (details)	175	195	166	144	123	92
Averett University (details)	48	45	35	36	46	56
Bluefield University (details)	106	90	86	49	24	31
Bridgewater College (details)	39	27	26	25	39	26
Christendom College (details)	2	2	4	0	3	1
Eastern Mennonite University (details)	59	55	56	35	27	19
Emory & Henry College (details)	19	28	27	25	29	23
Ferrum College (details)	30	24	18	28	18	16
Hampden-Sydney College (details)	4	2	2	3	5	3
Hampton University (details)	42	28	44	25	6	21
Hollins University (details)	10	17	18	15	9	10
Jefferson College of Health Sciences (Merged w/Radford U) (details)	114	108	0	0	0	0
Liberty University (details)	965	967	991	850	856	883
Mary Baldwin University (details)	170	103	24	1	69	85
Marymount University (details)	150	173	170	164	139	113
Randolph College (details)	24	23	13	19	13	10
Randolph-Macon College (details)	23	26	32	23	24	20
Regent University (details)	255	223	207	178	144	142
Roanoke College (details)	53	43	54	50	43	35
Shenandoah University (details)	77	88	92	90	57	80
Southern Virginia University (details)	11	12	6	3	5	8
Sweet Briar College (details)	5	6	8	9	7	5
University of Lynchburg (details)	64	55	49	46	52	45
University of Richmond (details)	56	37	34	31	20	22
Virginia Union University (details)	16	17	9	0	16	36
Virginia Wesleyan University (details)	45	39	65	47	29	38
Washington and Lee University (details)	0	0	0	0	1	0
Total Private, Four-Year Institutions (details)	2,605	2,463	2,257	1,918	1,804	1,820

Starting cohorts of fewer than 10 are excluded from reporting.

Notes:

Full Legal Name - "Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University" (Virginia Tech); "The College of William and Mary" (William & Mary)

Status and Accomplishment at Transfer

Not unlike students who are first-time in college, transfer students arrive at four-year institutions with a variety of backgrounds and needs, and a collection of credits that may, or may not, have been well-chosen for ultimate success as transfer student into a bachelors degree. In this next table we observe some of these characteristics.
To explore even more about students who transfer...

Virginia Community College System
All Students
Students Transferring to Virginia Community College System in the Fall and Spring of the Designated Year

Color variation represents the low to high variation within each column.

Degree Completion	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
Summary Totals
New Transfer (All)	13,593	13,228	12,666	12,595	11,848	11,564
Student Demographics
New Transfers, Age 17 to 19 yrs	992	1,031	1,050	1,057	1,161	1,126
New Transfers, Age 25 yrs and Older	4,017	3,870	3,472	3,449	3,124	3,052
New Transfers, Age 20 to 24 yrs	8,582	8,326	8,141	8,085	7,560	7,384
Financial Aid Programs at Entry
New Transfer with Pell	5,677	5,467	5,212	4,854	4,715	4,515
Student/Family Income at Entry
New Transfer, Family Income $0 - $49,999	5,498	5,271	4,907	4,702	4,425	4,148
New Transfer, Family Income $50,000 - $99,999	2,304	2,290	2,148	2,127	2,051	2,001
New Transfer, Family Income $100,000 - $149,999	1,237	1,272	1,205	1,211	1,105	1,178
New Transfer, Family Income $150,000 and Greater	850	884	938	1,010	1,062	1,070
New Transfer, Family Income Not Reported	3,704	3,511	3,468	3,545	3,205	3,167
Student Effort and Progress
Students earning 06 credits or fewer in First Year	624	575	534	653	569	498
Transfer-specific Characteristics
CC Transfer Students with 15 CC credits or Fewer	2,482	2,512	2,278	2,121	1,914	2,132
CC Transfer Students with between 16 and 30 CC credits	2,119	2,057	1,940	1,842	1,595	1,532
CC Transfer Students with 31 CC credits or Greater (No AA)	469	440	438	379	444	306
AA/AS Awarded Prior to Transfer	7,298	7,068	6,800	7,105	6,770	6,411
AA/AS Awarded Prior to Transfer, 2 or fewer years prior to Transfer	6,715	6,469	6,241	6,543	6,274	5,899
AA/AS Awarded Prior to Transfer, 2.01 to 5 years prior to Transfer	438	451	417	429	359	381
AA/AS Awarded Prior to Transfer, 5 or more years prior to Transfer	145	148	142	133	137	131
AAS Awarded Prior to Transfer (Occ/Technical)	1,026	998	1,038	1,010	1,041	1,131

Starting cohorts of fewer than 10 are excluded from reporting.

Notes:

Full Legal Name - "Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University" (Virginia Tech); "The College of William and Mary" (William & Mary)

First Year Retention of Transfer Students

Using the same characteristics provided in the previous table, we now look at how these students fair in terms of retention into the second year of enrollment. Since the cohorts below include students transferring into the four-year institution in both the fall term and the spring term, we count a student being retained as a fall transfer enrolling in the subsequent fall, and a spring transfer enrolling in the subsequent spring. While this may miss some students who demonstrate a more intermittent style of enrollment, those students will ultimately be counted in the completion rates - assuming, of course, they complete a degree.
To explore even more about students who transfer and their retention patterns...

Virginia Community College System
All Students
Students Transferring to Virginia Community College System in Fall and Spring of the Designated Year, Retention into Second Year

Color variation represents the low to high variation within each column.

Subcohort	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22
Summary Totals
New Transfer (All)(detail)	79%	79%	79%	80%	78%	59%
Student Demographics
New Transfers, Age 17 to 19 yrs (detail)	84%	82%	86%	88%	84%	64%
New Transfers, Age 25 yrs and Older(detail)	72%	71%	71%	70%	69%	49%
New Transfers, Age 20 to 24 yrs(detail)	82%	82%	81%	83%	81%	62%
Financial Aid Programs at Entry
New Transfer, Full-time with CTG or CTG Plus (Transfer Grant)(detail)	88%	87%	88%	89%	86%	73%
New Transfer with Pell(detail)	77%	76%	76%	78%	77%	57%
Student Effort and Progress
Students earning 06 credits or fewer in First Year(detail)	26%	20%	22%	28%	32%	16%
Transfer-specific Characteristics
New Transfer with CTG or CTG PLUS (2010-11 forward)(detail)	88%	87%	89%	89%	86%	73%
CC Transfer Students with 15 CC credits or Fewer(detail)	76%	70%	70%	70%	69%	54%
CC Transfer Students with between 16 and 30 CC credits(detail)	84%	81%	84%	83%	83%	64%
CC Transfer Students with 31 CC credits or Greater (No AA)(detail)	75%	89%	91%	88%	88%	72%
AA/AS Awarded Prior to Transfer(detail)	81%	82%	82%	84%	81%	60%
AA/AS Awarded Prior to Transfer, 2 or fewer years prior to Transfer(detail)	82%	84%	83%	86%	82%	61%
AA/AS Awarded Prior to Transfer, 2.01 to 5 years prior to Transfer(detail)	68%	67%	66%	67%	65%	46%
AA/AS Awarded Prior to Transfer, 5 or more years prior to Transfer(detail)	71%	56%	73%	61%	56%	44%
AAS Awarded Prior to Transfer (Occ/Technical)(detail)	72%	70%	69%	67%	68%	47%

Starting cohorts of fewer than 10 are excluded from reporting.

Notes:

Full Legal Name - "Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University" (Virginia Tech); "The College of William and Mary" (William & Mary)

How Many Completed a Four-year Degree?

As a starting point, we look at the percentage of students in each cohort/subcohort that complete a four-year degree within four-years of transfer. Four years is chosen to provide a parallel equivalent to the six-year graduation rate used for bachelors degree-seeking students. In the available detail tables, we track student success out to 10 years post-entry.
To explore even more about students who transfer and their completion patterns...

Virginia Community College System
All Students
Four-year Completion Rates of Students Transferring to Virginia Community College System in Fall and Spring of the Designated Years
All Students

Color variation represents the low to high variation within each column.

Outcomes of cohorts with fewer than 10 students are excluded from display (blank cells).

Four-year Completion Rates
Degree Completion	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
Summary Totals
New Transfer (All) (detail)	79%	79%	77%	52%	18%
Student Demographics
New Transfers, Age 17 to 19 yrs (detail)	83%	89%	89%	52%	12%
New Transfers, Age 25 yrs and Older (detail)	70%	69%	69%	44%	15%
New Transfers, Age 20 to 24 yrs (detail)	83%	82%	79%	55%	20%
Financial Aid Programs at Entry
New Transfer, Full-time with CTG or CTG Plus (Transfer Grant) (detail)	99%	94%	96%	73%	34%
New Transfer with Pell (detail)	76%	75%	74%	49%	17%
Student Effort and Progress
Students earning 06 credits or fewer in First Year (detail)	10%	12%	14%	3%	0%
Transfer-specific Characteristics
New Transfer with CTG or CTG PLUS (2010-11 forward) (detail)	99%	94%	96%	74%	34%
CC Transfer Students with 15 CC credits or Fewer (detail)	59%	59%	57%	36%	10%
CC Transfer Students with between 16 and 30 CC credits (detail)	78%	79%	73%	41%	9%
CC Transfer Students with 31 CC credits or Greater (No AA) (detail)	90%	87%	82%	59%	15%
AA/AS Awarded Prior to Transfer (detail)	87%	86%	84%	59%	22%
AA/AS Awarded Prior to Transfer, 2 or fewer years prior to Transfer (detail)	88%	87%	85%	60%	23%
AA/AS Awarded Prior to Transfer, 2.01 to 5 years prior to Transfer (detail)	70%	68%	67%	43%	19%
AA/AS Awarded Prior to Transfer, 5 or more years prior to Transfer (detail)	78%	69%	82%	50%	17%
AAS Awarded Prior to Transfer (Occ/Technical) (detail)	77%	79%	80%	51%	21%

Notes:

Full Legal Name - "Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University" (Virginia Tech); "The College of William and Mary" (William & Mary)