Today's Transfer Students: Who Are They?

Abstract

The author used statewide databases to examine a sample of students who transferred from North Carolina's community colleges to its public universities in 1993. Identified by social security numbers, students were classified by program codes as college transfer or technical students. The two groups were compared using a variety of demographic and academic variables. Students from technical programs constituted 30% of the students who transferred from North Carolina community colleges to public four-year institutions. Twice as many Black students transferred from technical programs as from college transfer programs. Technical students earned slightly higher grades after transfer than designated college transfer students, but students who transferred from college transfer curricula had higher persistence rates.