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

	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20
a. Total Transfers	13,548	13,071	14,281	13,728	13,443	12,877
b. Men - Total	5,935	5,813	6,132	6,198	6,004	5,723
c. Women - Total	7,613	7,258	8,148	7,529	7,439	7,154
d. Majority Students - Total	8,168	7,624	8,078	7,737	7,487	7,045
e. Majority Students - Men	3,675	3,460	3,594	3,574	3,434	3,233
f. Majority Students - Women	4,493	4,164	4,483	4,162	4,053	3,812
g. Students of Color - Total	5,380	5,447	6,203	5,991	5,956	5,832
h. Students of Color - Men	2,260	2,353	2,538	2,624	2,570	2,490
i. Students of Color - Women	3,120	3,094	3,665	3,367	3,386	3,342

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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.

	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20
Public Institutions
Christopher Newport University (details)	103	109	116	128	127	122
George Mason University (details)	2,955	2,907	3,292	3,577	3,518	3,428
James Madison University (details)	706	715	789	764	710	662
Longwood University (details)	179	176	210	173	154	128
Norfolk State University (details)	337	309	372	293	245	267
Old Dominion University (details)	2,127	1,980	2,303	2,106	2,078	2,062
Radford University (details)	649	699	711	610	549	571
University of Mary Washington (details)	277	283	362	362	319	323
University of Virginia (details)	456	424	408	408	440	458
University of Virginia's College at Wise (details)	98	86	108	98	75	52
Virginia Commonwealth University (details)	1,994	1,842	1,992	1,628	1,662	1,521
Virginia Military Institute (details)	14	19	11	25	18	15
Virginia State University (details)	159	137	141	125	122	128
Virginia Tech (details)	658	671	729	706	801	756
William & Mary (details)	93	111	104	98	86	94
Total Public Four-Year Institutions (details)	10,805	10,468	11,648	11,101	10,904	10,587
Private Institutions
George Washington University (details)	60	75	89	175	195	167
Averett University (details)	72	50	59	48	45	35
Bluefield University (details)	174	112	137	108	94	66
Bridgewater College (details)	31	39	42	39	27	26
Christendom College (details)	1	3	1	2	2	4
Eastern Mennonite University (details)	55	58	55	63	59	57
Emory & Henry College (details)	34	25	40	19	28	27
Ferrum College (details)	39	43	29	30	24	18
Hampden-Sydney College (details)	7	7	3	4	2	2
Hampton University (details)	40	29	29	39	29	44
Hollins University (details)	30	22	19	10	17	18
Liberty University (details)	1,088	961	906	999	1,009	1,034
Mary Baldwin University (details)	72	116	184	160	112	24
Marymount University (details)	200	191	166	150	177	177
Randolph College (details)	10	18	29	24	24	14
Randolph-Macon College (details)	15	18	21	23	26	32
Regent University (details)	258	279	342	264	233	209
Roanoke College (details)	61	48	42	53	43	54
Shenandoah University (details)	103	138	98	77	88	93
Southern Virginia University (details)	9	2	0	11	12	6
Sweet Briar College (details)	7	7	9	5	6	6
University of Lynchburg (details)	77	67	47	65	55	49
University of Richmond (details)	57	51	53	56	37	34
Virginia Intermont College (CLOSED) (details)	0	0	0	0	0	0
Virginia Union University (details)	31	22	11	16	17	8
Virginia Wesleyan University (details)	50	62	59	45	39	65
Total Private, Nonprofit, Four-Year Institutions (details)	2,743	2,603	2,633	2,627	2,539	2,290

Starting cohorts of fewer than 10 are excluded from reporting.
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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	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20
Summary Totals
New Transfer (All)	13,548	13,071	14,281	13,728	13,443	12,877
Student Demographics
New Transfers, Age 17 to 19 yrs	1,034	1,001	1,057	1,003	1,047	1,071
New Transfers, Age 25 yrs and Older	4,497	3,964	4,554	4,071	3,979	3,565
New Transfers, Age 20 to 24 yrs	8,015	8,104	8,669	8,652	8,416	8,238
Financial Aid Programs at Entry
New Transfer with Pell	5,742	5,604	5,946	5,677	5,469	938
Student/Family Income at Entry
New Transfer, Family Income $0 - $49,999	5,722	5,425	5,778	5,498	5,272	870
New Transfer, Family Income $50,000 - $99,999	2,405	2,248	2,590	2,304	2,292	328
New Transfer, Family Income $100,000 - $149,999	1,276	1,118	1,315	1,237	1,272	151
New Transfer, Family Income $150,000 and Greater	789	820	897	850	884	89
New Transfer, Family Income Not Reported	3,356	3,460	3,701	3,839	3,723	11,439
Student Effort and Progress
Students earning 06 credits or fewer in First Year	645	640	630	625	575	753
Transfer-specific Characteristics
CC Transfer Students with 15 CC credits or Fewer	2,813	2,524	4,187	2,511	2,569	2,313
CC Transfer Students with between 16 and 30 CC credits	2,422	2,303	1,190	2,137	2,079	1,982
CC Transfer Students with 31 CC credits or Greater (No AA)	501	470	28	469	444	443
AA/AS Awarded Prior to Transfer	6,582	6,669	7,655	7,380	7,180	6,919
AA/AS Awarded Prior to Transfer, 2 or fewer years prior to Transfer	6,048	6,128	7,096	6,785	6,571	6,348
AA/AS Awarded Prior to Transfer, 2.01 to 5 years prior to Transfer	433	413	419	448	456	426
AA/AS Awarded Prior to Transfer, 5 or more years prior to Transfer	101	128	140	147	153	145
AAS Awarded Prior to Transfer (Occ/Technical)	1,115	971	1,104	1,033	1,019	1,048

Starting cohorts of fewer than 10 are excluded from reporting.
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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	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19
Summary Totals
New Transfer (All)(detail)	83%	83%	84%	78%	78%	77%
Student Demographics
New Transfers, Age 17 to 19 yrs (detail)	85%	87%	86%	84%	81%	85%
New Transfers, Age 25 yrs and Older(detail)	80%	78%	78%	71%	70%	69%
New Transfers, Age 20 to 24 yrs(detail)	85%	85%	87%	81%	82%	80%
Financial Aid Programs at Entry
New Transfer, Full-time with CTG or CTG Plus (Transfer Grant)(detail)	91%	92%	90%	88%	87%	88%
New Transfer with Pell(detail)	79%	79%	81%	77%	77%	76%
Student Effort and Progress
Students earning 06 credits or fewer in First Year(detail)	24%	24%	25%	27%	21%	23%
Transfer-specific Characteristics
New Transfer with CTG or CTG PLUS (2010-11 forward)(detail)	91%	92%	90%	88%	87%	88%
CC Transfer Students with 15 CC credits or Fewer(detail)	73%	72%	73%	75%	69%	67%
CC Transfer Students with between 16 and 30 CC credits(detail)	83%	80%	82%	83%	80%	83%
CC Transfer Students with 31 CC credits or Greater (No AA)(detail)	87%	88%	87%	75%	88%	90%
AA/AS Awarded Prior to Transfer(detail)	89%	89%	91%	81%	82%	81%
AA/AS Awarded Prior to Transfer, 2 or fewer years prior to Transfer(detail)	91%	91%	93%	82%	83%	83%
AA/AS Awarded Prior to Transfer, 2.01 to 5 years prior to Transfer(detail)	73%	71%	71%	68%	67%	67%
AA/AS Awarded Prior to Transfer, 5 or more years prior to Transfer(detail)	67%	80%	71%	71%	56%	72%
AAS Awarded Prior to Transfer (Occ/Technical)(detail)	79%	78%	75%	71%	69%	66%

Starting cohorts of fewer than 10 are excluded from reporting.
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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	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18
Summary Totals
New Transfer (All) (detail)	67%	68%	68%	63%	64%
Student Demographics
New Transfers, Age 17 to 19 yrs (detail)	67%	70%	68%	68%	67%
New Transfers, Age 25 yrs and Older (detail)	61%	61%	59%	53%	54%
New Transfers, Age 20 to 24 yrs (detail)	71%	71%	72%	67%	69%
Financial Aid Programs at Entry
New Transfer, Full-time with CTG or CTG Plus (Transfer Grant) (detail)	85%	88%	88%	84%	84%
New Transfer with Pell (detail)	61%	62%	62%	60%	61%
Student Effort and Progress
Students earning 06 credits or fewer in First Year (detail)	7%	9%	9%	7%	10%
Transfer-specific Characteristics
New Transfer with CTG or CTG PLUS (2010-11 forward) (detail)	84%	88%	87%	84%	84%
CC Transfer Students with 15 CC credits or Fewer (detail)	48%	48%	49%	52%	48%
CC Transfer Students with between 16 and 30 CC credits (detail)	63%	63%	61%	66%	62%
CC Transfer Students with 31 CC credits or Greater (No AA) (detail)	79%	77%	78%	71%	77%
AA/AS Awarded Prior to Transfer (detail)	77%	77%	77%	70%	71%
AA/AS Awarded Prior to Transfer, 2 or fewer years prior to Transfer (detail)	79%	78%	79%	71%	72%
AA/AS Awarded Prior to Transfer, 2.01 to 5 years prior to Transfer (detail)	58%	62%	60%	56%	56%
AA/AS Awarded Prior to Transfer, 5 or more years prior to Transfer (detail)	62%	68%	69%	50%	46%
AAS Awarded Prior to Transfer (Occ/Technical) (detail)	67%	68%	64%	61%	59%

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