Three members of the Tackling Transfer National Advisory Board offer four strategies to help higher education leaders and state policymakers repair the transfer student pipeline, ensuring that more of America’s students complete four-year degrees that lead to successful careers.
Our nation has been rocked by demands to address the many racial disparities in our society, driven most recently by data that makes it clear American Indians, Black and Latinx Americans are disproportionately contracting the coronavirus—and the hardest hit in the post-COVID job market. For example, less than half of adult Black Americans currently have a job—and those who do make far less than their white colleagues.
Those of us working in higher education feel an immense sense of urgency to preserve our institutions’ promise as drivers of social mobility and racial equity. We know that low-income students and students of color are more likely to pursue a degree through a local community college, perceiving this option as more affordable and accessible. But they are also far less likely to successfully transfer to a four-year university and reach their goal of earning a bachelor’s degree.
