Aspen-AASCU Transfer Student Success Intensive Practice Assessment

Welcome to the Aspen-AASCU Transfer Student Success Intensive! Please complete this evaluation on your current transfer practice (at your individual institution and in the community college-4-year institution partnership). Results from this survey will be used throughout the Intensive to inform discussions between partner institutions on the current and future state of transfer within the institutions and the partnership and explore the impact of the program. 


Although we ask you to identify the name of your institution in the survey, we will only disclose institution-level responses to the individuals within your partnership, not with the greater Transfer Intensive. 


This evaluation should be completed by each individual on the Intensive team (except the presidents, who will complete a separate survey) to the best of their current knowledge on each topic. The evaluation focuses on transfer practice in terms of prioritization, advising, and pathways efforts, both institutionally and within your partnership. 


To complete the evaluation, please read each statement in full and choose a response that best describes the degree to which your institutions and/or partnership have adopted each practice based on the scoring rubric provided: Not Present, Beginning, Emerging, Established, Advanced, and Unknown. 


This survey defines partner and partnership as the relationship between the community college and four-year institution. 


The survey should take roughly 15 minutes to complete. We look forward to working with you during the year-long Aspen-AASCU Transfer Student Success Intensive!

Enter your personal invitation code (only applies if the field is not populated yet).

Domain 1

Transfer Prioritization

At my institution...
Community college transfer student success is among our top priorities, reflected in our strategic plan/priorities, senior team and board of trustee meeting agendas, and internal and external communications.
Resources (including finances, human capital, and infrastructure) are invested in areas directly addressing transfer student needs.
We regularly collect data on transfer students and track transfer students as a distinct population in all our student unit record data systems.
Data on transfer students is regularly disaggregated by markers such as race/ethnicity, income, first-generation status, program/major, age, and other populations of interest for our context.

Across our partner institutions...
We have a shared, president-led vision for the success of transfer students that informs our strategies and investments.
Senior leaders and practitioners meet routinely and are well-equipped to advance the major reforms needed to realize our shared transfer vision.
Our reforms address needs across the full transfer student experience, including before and during community college, during the transition to university, and throughout university and beyond.
We have established specific and measurable goals and priorities regarding transfer student success.
Disaggregated data on transfer student outcomes is readily and regularly shared.
Transfer student data is reviewed regularly to tailor transfer strategies to student and region needs and continuously improve practice and policy.
We have the financial resources, human capital (e.g., advisors, dedicated transfer staff, etc.), and other resources (e.g., technology, communications support, etc.) needed to serve transfer students well.

Domain 2

Tailored Transfer Advising & Supports

At my institution...
Advising is early, sustained, and inevitable for transfer students.
Leaders ensure monitoring systems, policies, supports, and trainings are in place to support faculty and advisors in understanding transfer student needs, tracking student progress, and intervening with the appropriate support when necessary.
Transfer students are supported in understanding how to access and navigate the financial aid system.
There is a dedicated orientation program designed to meet the specific needs of transfer students and tailored to their unique experiences.

Across our partner institutions...
Dedicated staff support transfer students before, during, and after the transition from the community college.
Advising and other leaders frequently meet to review processes and coordinate advising and other non-academic supports across the transfer student journey.

Domain 3

Transfer Academic Programs & Pathways

At my institution...
Term-by-term, four-year program maps are clear, regularly maintained, and adjustable for part-time students to allow timely completion.
Major maps are embedded into student information and degree audit systems and are easy for transfer students, advisors, and faculty to use.
Advisors and students work together within a student’s first term to translate four-year maps into tailored education plans and course schedules that support timely progression within a major, transfer, and associate and bachelor’s degree completion.
Gateway or high-degree-of-difficulty courses that are critical for transfer student success, such as college-level English and math and upper-division major requirements, include best-in-class instructional practices (e.g., co-requisite education, project-based learning) as well as robust academic supports (e.g., embedded or mandatory tutoring).
Faculty develop course schedules and modalities (e.g., hybrid, fully online, etc) that enable students to progress through transfer pathways in a timely manner.

Across our partner institutions...
Leadership supports and creates routines for faculty to build cross-sector relationships, develop and maintain program pathways, and align curriculum and instruction.
Program pathway development results in the following features: courses are frontloaded for students to inspire early major exploration, commitment, or changes; at least one major-specific course each term of community college; and program-specific, college-level math and English in the first year.
Equitable access for timely degree completion of transfer students is supported through intentional practices such as reserving spots for transfer students in competitive majors, providing community college advisors and students clear information about application requirements, and partnering to provide critical courses unavailable at the community college.