WTCS Transfer Report

Associate-Degree Holding Transfer Students: Source of Degree and Student Performance University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
October 18, 2004

I.  BACKGROUND

In November 2003, the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents directed UW System institutions to enhance opportunities for Wisconsin residents to earn baccalaureate degrees by:

• facilitating the transfer of academic credits from Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) institutions into UW System institutions, and
• increasing the number of articulation agreements between institutions of the UW System and the Wisconsin Technical College System.   

In May 2004, UW System issued revised transfer guidelines that expanded the range and amount of academic credits that could be transferred from WTCS institutions into UW institutions.   For the 2005-07 biennium, UW System is requesting additional funding to enable UW institutions to increase enrollments to accommodate additional transfer students from the WTCS. 

For UWGB, transfer students comprise a significant portion of both new students and graduating students.  In 2003-04, 44% of all new students at UWGB transferred here from another institution.  Many of our transfer students come from Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC).  In fact, NWTC provides UWGB with more transfer students than either UW Marinette or UW Manitowoc, who are considered “feeder” schools for UWGB.  Insofar as it is the only public two-year institution in the greater Green Bay metropolitan area, NWTC is likely to remain a major provider of transfer students for UWGB. 

During 2004-05, we will need to review and revise our transfer arrangements and articulation agreements according to new directions from the UW Board of Regents and UW System.  We also will need to prepare to meet the needs of additional students who are expected to transfer from Green Bay’s WTC campus.   To do so wisely, we need to know more about the students who come to UWGB from the WTC System.

II.  ANALYSIS

In Summer 2004, UW-Green Bay’s Office of Institutional Research analyzed the academic

performance of 737 degree-seeking transfer students who had completed an associate’s degree at another institution prior to enrolling at UWGB between Spring 1998 and Fall 2001 (a four-year period).  The source of these 737 transfer students were as follows:

Source	Per Cent	Number
UW College	49%	360
WTCS Institution	29%	211
Other	22%	166
Total	100%	737

The analysis looked at retention and graduation, grades, and performance in particular courses, and focused on differences in student performance that might relate to the type of institution that student attended for his or her associate’s degree.   Our question was, do students transferring from the Technical Colleges perform as well as those transferring from the UW Colleges or other schools?

To keep our comparison groups as comparable as possible, we included only students who had earned an associate degree from another institution.  In the analysis that follows, we are particularly interested in comparing students who transferred in with an associate degree from the technical college system with students who transferred in from one of the UW Colleges.

A.  Retention and Graduation by Source

Table 1 documents the retention and degree-completion rates of these transfer students.  All of these students have had at least three complete years since first matriculating at UW-Green Bay, but many enroll part time.   Comparing graduates of WTC institutions with graduates of UW Colleges:

• UW College graduates are much more likely to have graduated from UWGB within 3 years.
• The rate of attrition associated with poor grades (probation or suspension) is similar across the three transfer sources
• WTC graduates are much more likely to drop out even through their UWGB grades are adequate.
• Most of these non-enrolled transfer students are in good academic standing and could re-enroll at UWGB. 

Table 1. Retention and Degree Completion of UWGB’s  Associate-Degree-Holding Transfer Students by Source

B.  Area of Study by Source

Table 2 shows the areas of study chosen by transfer students from different sources.  

• Of UW College graduates, a majority enter Liberal Arts and Sciences programs, followed by Business and Education programs.   
• Of WTC graduates, over 40% enter nursing and over 1/3 enter Liberal Arts and Sciences programs.

Table 2.  Number of Students Enrolled by Area of Study and Source

C.  Persistence by Area of Study and Source

Table 3 examines the relationship between the transfer students’ UWGB area of study, persistence (defined as continued enrollment or degree completion), and transfer source.  Several of the table’s cells contain too few students to allow meaningful comparisons.  Again comparing graduates from WTC institutions with graduates from UW Colleges:

• UW College graduates are much more likely to have graduated from UWGB or still be enrolled, regardless of their area of study.

A few additional trends deserve mention. 

• Students who transfer without a declared major have an extremely low persistence – 2% overall – regardless of their source.

• WTC graduates have higher rates of persistence in professional programs than in Liberal Arts and Sciences.  (Note: this is rate of persistence, not number of students.)

Table 3.  Student Persistence Rate by Area of Study and Source*

                        * - indicates fewer than 10 students in cell.

Table 4 shows the number of students who have graduated or are still enrolled by area of study and source. 

Table 4.  Number of Graduates and Continuing Students by Area of Study and Source

D.  Grade Point Average by Area of Study and Source

Table 5 shows the cumulative GPA at UWGB for transfer students who are enrolled in Fall 2004.  Grades vary as a function of both the area of study and source of the student’s associate degree.  Again, comparing WTC graduates with UW College graduates:

• WTC graduates perform as well as UW Colleges graduates, in liberal arts majors as well as in professional programs.

Note that the pattern of variation in GPA (Table 5) contrasts sharply with the pattern of variation in persistence (Tables 1 and 3).  Namely, nursing students are least likely to persist but have the highest average GPA; social work students are most likely to persist but have the lowest average GPA.

Table 5. Cumulative GPA at UW-Green Bay of Fall 2004 Continuing Students with Associate’s Degrees by Area of Study and Source

      * Fewer than ten students in cell.

E.  Transfer Students’ Performance in Selected Courses

Table 6 shows the average grades in a dozen courses, over the past five years, of transfer students with associate degrees.  These courses were selected because they enroll students from all three transfer sources and because they represent a range of UWGB’s curriculum.  The results show that in general, students from all three sources perform satisfactorily in all twelve courses.  Comparing the WTC graduates with UW College graduates and “Other” graduates.

• WTC graduates perform best, on average, in eight of the twelve courses.
• “Other” institution graduates perform best, on average, in four of the twelve courses.  
• WTC graduates perform better than UW College graduates in humanities and social science courses.
• WTC graduates perform marginally, on the average, in one course (Principles of Biology 1).
• UW College graduates perform marginally, on the average, in one course (Intro Accounting).

Table 6. Grades in Selected UW-Green Bay Courses by Source of Associate’s Degree

III.  IMPLICATIONS

Our question was, do students transferring to UWGB from the Technical Colleges perform as well as those transferring from the UW Colleges or other schools?  

Finding 1:   Most of the UW College graduates who transfer to UWGB complete their baccalaureate degrees within three years.  Hence, the UW Colleges provide excellent preparation for baccalaureate studies.

Finding 2.  UWGB grades earned by WTC graduates compare favorably with those earned by UW College graduates.  Course by course, this preliminary analysis shows that the WTC graduates generally out-perform the UW College graduates.  In short, WTC graduates appear to be quite on par with UW College graduates in terms of their academic preparation, motivation, and ability to perform in the classroom.  

Finding 3:  WTC graduates are far more likely than UW College graduates to drop out or “stop out” before completing a UWGB degree, even though their grades would allow them to continue.   Most of these students are in good academic standing and could continue their enrollment at UWGB if they wish.  This suggests that other factors besides academic ability account for the greater attrition of WTC graduates.  The current analysis, however, does not indicate what those factors may be or what actions may reduce attrition among these students.

Suggestions for Further Action:

1. Affirm that the UW Colleges do a fine job of preparing baccalaureate graduates and are an important part of Wisconsin’s “pipeline” in producing future baccalaureate degree holders.
2. Reanalyze these data controlling for age.
3. Conduct a follow-up study of recent WTC graduates who dropped out of UWGB while in good academic standing to determine the reasons they dropped out and what might have kept those particular students in school.
4. Consistent with UW’s new transfer guidelines, develop a new model of articulation that is designed to move WTC graduates toward a baccalaureate degree more expeditiously than current arrangements allow.  Such a new model should be market-tested and piloted before it is finalized or fully implemented.
5. Explore whether alternate instructional delivery, class locations, or student services might enable more of WTC students to complete their baccalaureate degrees (e.g., night classes, classes downtown or on the NWTC campus, new student services or delivery modes).
6. This analysis pertained only to students with earned associate degrees.  Conduct further analysis to determine whether the same patterns apply to students who transfer before being graduated with an associate degree. 

 

 

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