Transfer Assessment Tool

Based on The Transfer Playbook: Essential Practices for Two- and Four-Year Colleges, published in 2016 by the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program and the Community College Research Center at Columbia University’s Teachers College (CCRC). Please note that this tool will be updated in late 2024 with the forthcoming release of The Transfer Playbook 2.0. 

The items in this assessment tool reflect strong practices observed through Aspen and CCRC’s research and direct engagements with excellent community colleges, which we define as those achieving high and improving levels of student success (1) both while in college and after graduation (2) overall and for students of color and low-income students. The assessment tool is organized into several domains of practice emerging from The Transfer Playbook and prompts users to rate their institution’s adoption of each item within each domain. Once complete, a summary of scores will allow colleges to identify strengths and weaknesses in specific practices aligned to each item and to observe which domains most need improvement. 

In this assessment tool, the term “student success” has the following meaning:

  • Success in college: Students (1) learn and (2) complete credentials.
  • Success after college: Students (1) get good jobs and/or (2) transfer and attain a bachelor’s degree.
  • Equitable outcomes and access: For Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, and low-income students, the college ensures high absolute rates and minimizes gaps in (1) learning and completion outcomes for students in college, (2) transfer and workforce outcomes for students after college, and (3) enrollment of different demographic groups relative to the college’s service area.

Directions: Assess the extent to which your college engages each of the following practices, according to the scoring rubric.

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Domain 1

Prioritize Transfer
The college president and other senior leaders emphasize in their senior meetings, trustee meetings, and communications across the college that improving student outcomes in transfer and bachelor’s attainment are important.
Transfer student success is reflected as a core priority in the college’s strategic documents (e.g., strategic plan, accreditation self-study, student success planning documents, fundraising plans, etc.).
The college regularly collects and reports data on transfer and bachelor’s attainment outcomes to the president and senior team, academic departments, and student services departments that work on transfer.
College leaders evaluate disaggregated data on rates of transfer and bachelor’s attainment by student race/ethnicity (i.e., Black, Latino/a, Native American, and Pacific Islander) and income level and make plans to improve outcomes for those groups with lower outcomes.
Substantial resources are dedicated to the transfer function, with a focus on building and maintaining strong transfer pathways and ensuring transfer-specific student advising.
The college has dedicated staff with significant responsibility for improving student outcomes in transfer and bachelor’s attainment.

Domain 2

Create Clear, Rigorous Program Pathways
Programs of study for transfer students are clearly mapped with information about recommended courses, progress milestones, and applied learning/career opportunities.
Coursework in transfer programs and extra-curricular activities provide students with rigorous preparation aligned to expectations for their junior and senior years.
Alternatives to 2+2 transfer pathways have been developed for circumstances where those are not the best routes to a bachelor’s degree.
Faculty meet at least annually with their four-year counterparts to examine data by program, resulting in specific actions for improving student transfer outcomes.
The college has in place at least one transformational model in partnership with a college or university that delivers much better transfer outcomes (e.g., dual admission, guaranteed transfer, co-location).

Domain 3

Provide Tailored Transfer Advising
All students are exposed early in their academic careers to the expectation of and options for transfer to a four-year college.
The college sets a goal for student decisions on transfer major and destination (e.g., all students decide by 30 credits) and aligns advisors; professional development and accountability to that goal.
Every new student is helped—as early as possible—to explore career and transfer options, choose a program of study, and develop a full-program plan.
Students’ progress in fulfilling requirements for their intended major/transfer-destination institution is monitored, and support is provided to students at risk of falling off-plan.
Advisors provide counseling that helps students develop financial plans for their entire undergraduate education—including completion of both sub-baccalaureate credentials and a bachelor’s degree.
In crafting its advising services, the college considers the particular needs of different student groups, including by race/ethnicity, income level, age, and family status.
The college website, and other “marketing” materials, include accurate, easy to access information and points of contact for students seeking to transfer.

Domain 4

Strategies for Building Strong Transfer Partnerships
The president and other college leaders have trusting relationships with colleagues at partner four-year colleges and regularly communicate with them about transfer student goals, outcomes, and advising/supports.
A critical mass of faculty and staff from both institutions regularly communicates and collaborates to improve transfer student success.
At least annually, the community college and partner four-year institutions share data on transfer student outcomes, discuss areas for improvements, and follow through to implement changes.
The two institutions jointly invest in shared support services and strategic initiatives to benefit transfer students.
The community college and its major four-year partners each has at least one “transfer champion” who serves as a point person for the exchange of information and the raising of concerns between the partners.
The college works to build partnerships with institutions that serve large numbers of students of color (HBCUs, HSIs, and others with substantial numbers of Black, Latino, Native American, and/or Pacific Islander students).