Data and Trends on Transfer Tulsa Regional CollegeTransfer Repor Executive Summary The Tulsa Collaborative, consisting of Tulsa Community College (TCC), Oklahoma State University-Tulsa, Northeastern State University, the University of Oklahoma- Tulsa, Rogers State University, Langston University, and the University of Tulsa, was formed in July 2017, with the support of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation. The formation of the Collaborative led member institutions to launch the Tulsa Transfer Project, designed to increase the number of students who attain post-secondary credentials in northeastern Oklahoma through enhanced transfer student success. The purpose of the Tulsa Transfer Project is to improve the outcomes for transfer students in the region. The project’s measurable goals are the following: 1. To increase the transfer rate of TCC students to four-year institutions 2. To increase the percentage of transfer credits accepted toward majors at the receiving universities The Tulsa Transfer 3. To increase rates of bachelor’s degree completion. Project was As a result of a Schusterman Family Foundation request for proposals for the created...to increase design and implementation of this project, the John N. Gardner Institute for the number of Excellence in Undergraduate Education was selected to aid the institutions in students who atain evaluating and improving their current approach to transfer. post-secondary Each of the six institutions that joined the Tulsa Transfer Project in spring of 2018 credentials in formed a task force to evaluate the transfer experience using a Gardner Institute- norheastern designed process, Foundations of Excellence Transfer. Across these six institutions, Oklahoma through a total of 228 administrators, faculty, staff, and students participated in the enhanced transfer evaluation of transfer at their institution. As part of the evaluation they reviewed student success. data on their transfer students, their current institutional policies, transfer services, results of surveys of faculty and transfer (or transfer-bound) students, and other documents. This report includes brief descriptions of the actions undertaken during the self-study year and institutional priorities for the coming year. While working on their own approach to transfer through the Gardner Institute’s Foundations of Excellence process, the institutions are working together to ensure clear transfer pathways, enhance the transfer experience, and increase educational attainment across the region. They undertook four joint initiatives for 2019: the development of a regional transfer philosophy, activities for the National Transfer Week, Regional Transfer FAQs, and this Regional Transfer Report. The institutions will continue to meet and develop additional collaborative initiatives during the 2019-2020 academic year. 2 Tulsa Regional College Transfer Repor The inadequate number of students beginning higher education at a community college and efficiently and successfully completing a bachelor’s degree is a national, state, and regional concern. Despite the introduction of alternative post-secondary program offerings and credentials in the United States, it remains true that earning a bachelor’s degree leads to higher individual earnings and supports national and regional economic activity. But nationally only 13.3% of the students who started higher education at a community college Nationally only in 2010 completed a bachelor’s degree in six years. This low rate of bachelor’s 13.3% of the attainment is in part because only 31.5% of the students transferred, and of students who those students 42.2% completed a bachelor’s degree by spring 2016. stared at a In Oklahoma the situation is slightly brighter as 15.5% of the students who community college started at a community college in 2010 completed a bachelor’s by 2016. This is the result of a higher rate of transfer from the community colleges, 43.4%, but is in 2010 completed limited by a lower rate of students who transferred completing their bachelor’s a bachelor’s degree degrees, 35.6%.1 In Tulsa County in 2017, individuals with a bachelor’s degree in six years. earned nearly 38% more annually than those with some college or an associate degree and 67% more annually than those with a high school diploma. Tulsa County’s rate of degree attainment exceeds the state average and is on par with the national average as 30.9% of adults 25 and older have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher.2 However, disparities persist based on race and ethnicity as the rate of bachelor’s degree attainment among white residents in Tulsa County (36%) is nearly twice as high as the rate among African-American residents (19%) and over three times higher than the rate among Hispanic residents (11%). The Tulsa Collaborative, consisting of Tulsa Community College, Langston University, Northeastern State University, Oklahoma State University-Tulsa, Rogers State University, The University of Tulsa and the University of Oklahoma- Bachelor’s Degree Atainment In Tulsa County, disparities exist in the rate of bachelor’s degree atainment based on race and ethnicity. 3 Tulsa, formed in July 2017, with the aim of improving their collaboration in order to increase the overall rate of bachelor’s degree attainment in the region, while at the same time closing gaps in attainment. The initial goals of the Collaborative were to work together in supporting students as they 1) navigate the options of post-secondary institutions and programs of study, and 2) transfer from one institution to another with full applicability of credit to degree programs while minimizing excess credits and time-to-degree completion. On behalf of the Collaborative and in order to move forward in achieving its goals the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation issued a request for proposals for technical assistance to Tulsa institutions in evaluating their current By statute, Tulsa approach to transfer and implementing plans for improving the current level of successful transfer and degree achievement. The non-profit John N. Gardner Community College Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education was selected to oversee this is the primary process and provide direct assistance to the institutions. provider of lower- Since spring 2018, Collaborative members have worked with professional staff of division coursework the Gardner Institute to undertake the Tulsa Transfer Project through a process among the public called Foundations of Excellence Transfer. The process involves systematic self institutions in study and intentional development of action steps leading toward improvement Tulsa County. of transfer for both the two-year sending institution and four-year receiving institutions. By statute, Tulsa Community College (TCC) is the primary provider of lower-division coursework among the public institutions in Tulsa County. This factor, along with the lower tuition and the availability of 100% funding for tuition and fees through Tulsa Achieves scholarships for high school graduates living in Tulsa County, makes TCC an ideal starting point for college. Pathways developed for many bachelor’s degree programs make it easy for students to transfer from TCC to one of the area universities. In 2017-2018, 3,419 students transferred from TCC; 66.5% of these transfer students went to one of the universities in the Tulsa Collaborative. Tulsa Transfer Project: Purpose The purpose of the Tulsa Transfer Project is to improve the outcomes for transfer students in the region. The project’s measurable goals are the following 1. To increase the transfer rate of TCC students to four-year institutions 2. To increase the percentage of transfer credits accepted toward majors at the receiving universities 3. To increase bachelor’s degree completion rates. Successful transfer involves both the creation of transfer-affirming institutions and collaboration between transfer-partner institutions. Each of the institutions in the Tulsa Collaborative agreed to undertake internal improvement through the Gardner Institute’s Foundations of Excellence Transfer process. They are working together to ensure clear transfer pathways, enhance the transfer experience, and increase educational attainment across the region. 4 Institutional Progress: Foundations of Excellence® Transfer The Foundations of Excellence Transfer process involves task force-based ...the institutions assessment of the entire transfer experience at the institution. The task force, composed of administrators, faculty, staff and students, uses evidence to evaluate evaluated the ways how the institution meets aspirational standards, known as Foundational their services and Dimensions®. The goals for this process are to increase institutional knowledge policies suppor both about the institution’s transfer students and transfer issues, to increase the the academic and perceived importance of transfer at the institution, and most importantly to build social integration and then execute a plan to improve the totality of the transfer experience. of students as they In the 2018-2019 academic year six of the institutions undertook the Foundations of transition from Excellence self-study process. The University of Oklahoma-Tulsa joined the project one institution to in April 2019 and will be engaging in the self-study process during the 2019-2020 another. academic year. Across these six institutions, a total of 228 administrators, faculty, staff, and students participated in the evaluation of transfer