Image: A research paper by George C. Spencer, Jr. appears in The Review of Higher Education. In "Promoting the Attainment-to-Transfer Pathway: Effects of Transfer Associate Degree Policies Across States," Spencer examines associate degree transfer policies to better understand the policy effects on students earning associate degrees. According to Spencer, many state governments established comprehensive articulation policies to facilitate the flow of credits between state colleges and universities. He used institution-level data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to seek whether the introduction of statewide transfer associate degree (TAD) policies increases rates of degree completion at community colleges across states. He studied variations in these policies across multiple states in an effort to understand the policy effects on transferrable associate degree completion. His findings suggest that comprehensive articulation policies may be most effective at providing pathways for and encouraging persistence among students at two-year schools. Full article available at: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/743030 Type of News/Audience: Research