Students transfer before finishing degrees, study says

In many states, a significant portion of students transfer before completing a degree, according to a report issued by the Project on Academic Success at IU and the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

According to a press release, the report analyzed 1.9 million students, who were seeking degrees for the first time when they started their post-secondary studies in 2006. The students’ academic performances were followed until 2012.

The report also found a substantial percentage of non-traditional students failed to earn a degree over a six-year period.

The analysis covered states where data was complete enough for 2006 in order to perform research. The analysis covered two-year public institutions, four-year public institutions and four-year private institutions.

According to the press release, Indiana is not included in the results for four-year public institutions because not enough institutions from the state participated in the National Student Clearinghouse and provided data for the years covered by the study. At a national level, 12 percent of students who started at four-year public institutions completed their degrees at other institutions.

According to the press release, the six-year completion rate for traditional-age college students, who started at four-year public institutions, was higher than for adult learners in nearly every state.

“The disaggregation of college completion results in this report by institutional type and enrollment intensity provides policy makers with valuable information to consider when looking at completion,” said Vasti Torres, IU professor and co-author of the report.

— Matt Stefanski