Closing the Gap

New faculty member George Spencer works to remove barriers for underrepresented students.

The Institute of Higher Education welcomed George C. Spencer, Jr. as assistant professor of higher education, beginning the fall term of 2019. He joined IHE from the Steinhardt Graduate School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University where he had been a Dean’s Faculty Fellow since 2017.

“I am delighted to join the faculty of the Institute of Higher Education at UGA,” says Spencer. “It is exciting to join such an incredibly talented and innovative community of scholars—both faculty and graduate students—with whom I share a passion for understanding how we can best ensure college access and success for all students.”

Spencer’s research evaluates the effectiveness of policy levers intended to improve college readiness, access, and completion, particularly among students in underrepresented groups. Drawing primarily from the economics of education and sociology, he employs rigorous quantitative methods to improve understanding of students’ educational pathways from high school through college.

In addition, the American Educational Research Association (AERA) awarded Spencer a 2019-2020 grant to investigate how institutional context and state-level policies relate to high-school students’ dual enrollment access.

Associate Director Jim Hearn says, “We are pleased that Dr. Spencer is bringing his expertise, experience, and commitment to the Institute. Expanding access and opportunity for all is postsecondary education’s most pressing challenge, and he will help us ensure that our research, teaching, and public engagements each effectively address that challenge.”

Accommodating Student Transfers: Does State Policy Support All Pathways?

George C. Spencer, Jr.

Student mobility increasingly has become commonplace in higher education. According to the National Student Clearinghouse data, nearly one in every three students moves from their initial institution to another.  While students who transfer vertically from community colleges garner much of the attention in both research and policy circles, a commensurate number of students who first enroll in four-year colleges will also transfer.  Like vertical transfers, the students moving laterally from a four-year college to another or to a community college are also susceptible to risks that may threaten degree completion. In particular, they might lose a considerable number of credits in the transfer process.

 Thirty-one state governments have employed statewide articulation agreements to help students preserve credits in the transfer process, but there is limited empirical research of their effectiveness. Angela Boatman and Adela Soliz have found interesting evidence in their study of articulation efforts in Ohio, but their work focuses singularly on the population of students transferring vertically from community colleges. Building on and broadening their work, my current project investigates if students who transfer laterally or in reverse from four-year colleges have improved post-transfer success if they complete universally transferable (UT) courses before doing so. 

George Spencer's research indicates that all transfer students are susceptible to risks that may threaten degree completion, and articulation agreements can help.

The initial findings suggest that there is no relationship between UT course completion and associate degree obtainment among reverse transfers. Importantly, because reverse transfers are more likely to be academically at-risk, the probability of degree attainment is low generally for this population of students. This outcome suggests that additional efforts are needed to support these transfer students. 

In contrast, the study uncovered a positive association between UT course completion and bachelor’s degree attainment among lateral transfers. The overall positive association suggests that UT credit policies ensured that students could make degree progress and could continue seamlessly in their intended program of study. The pathway is notable because the transference of credits for coursework at the department level is often a critical barrier in mobility. 

This study illuminates at least two important implications for policy consideration. First, the results suggest that articulation agreements can support students transferring in multiple directions. The finding carries important practical significance given the increasing student mobility between institutions and the severity of credit loss that these students may suffer. Second, the study further advances the necessity to consider the impact of specific approaches to achieve statewide articulation and the nuanced ways that such policies may advance or impede student success. While most approaches to achieve articulation are intended explicitly to support students transferring from community colleges, not all accommodate the other pathways.