Transfer Myth Busting

Today’s topic is transfer myths and realities.

Last week, NOVA was honored to host over 120 individuals representing teams from 11 states, policymakers and foundation leaders as well as senior administrators and staff from the U.S. Department of Education at the DoE’s Raise the Bar Summit: Tackling Transfer to Increase Access, Improve Completion and Prepare Today’s Workforce. On behalf of our College, I offered a keynote on Busting Transfer Myths to Overcome Barriers to Learner Mobility. Today, I thought I’d share some of that myth-busting with you.

First and foremost is a myth about the goals of community college students. At NOVA and beyond, most students at two-year colleges — even those who begin in workforce pathways — want to transfer eventually to complete their bachelor’s degrees. At NOVA, “most” is a big number. Last year, more than 13,200 NOVA students transferred to universities, with almost 9,300 transferring to Virginia public universities. And the number of students transferring has increased every single year: over the past five years, NOVA transfers have increased by more than 21%.

So why do students start at community colleges like NOVA? Here, I’d like to bust another myth. Selectivity at many colleges and universities across the country has decreased. In fact, several Virginia universities admit more than 75% of all applicants, and some admit more than 90%. So, realistically, more and more students could start their higher education journeys at a four-year college. But many don’t. Why? Affordability — not ability. Affordability is central to opportunity. Students who attend NOVA are making a smart financial choice: our tuition is 60 to 70% less than that of Virginia’s public universities. Transfer pathways provide affordable access to a college education, especially for low-income students and students of color. The diversity of NOVA transfers typically exceeds the diversity of the accepting institution. For example, over 50% of NOVA students transferring to the University of Virginia are students of color, as are over 55% of our students transferring to Virginia Tech. Rates of first-generation and Pell-eligible transfer students follow similar patterns.

And yet, we know that cost-saving means nothing if the quality of the experience is subpar. NOVA provides equitable access to affordable and exceptional higher education and workforce programs designed and driven by your talent and expertise. I raise the issue of quality because it busts another myth: that community colleges — and community college students — are less than. Given their resilience, initiative, intelligence and focus, our students are more than. Our transfer students succeed at or above the rate of their incoming four-year university peers. This success is not a happy accident: you work closely with our university partners, aligning curriculum and helping to forge pathways. You work directly with students, providing transfer advising and clear expectations — and it shows.

Nowhere is this as evident as in ADVANCE, our nationally recognized transfer partnership with George Mason University. Mason has long been NOVA’s number-one transfer destination: we send well over 3,000 students each year to GMU. In 2018, faculty and staff from both NOVA and GMU came together to do the hard but necessary work of designing a seamless pathway between our institutions. Today, our institutions meet regularly to sustain and improve this pathway, which has already proven so successful. ADVANCE students rest easy knowing their credits will transfer, and the time, effort and money they put into their associate degrees will count. Because of your deep collaboration with your peers at GMU, ADVANCE has made opportunity real by every measure. The majority of ADVANCE program participants are students of color and Pell-eligible. Almost half are first-generation college students. And more than 90% of ADVANCE students complete their bachelor’s degrees in less than two years after transfer. (Special shout-out to ADVANCE Executive Director Jason Dodge, NOVA Transfer Director Jen Nelson and all the remarkable ADVANCE Coaches!)

At last week’s summit, the significant impact of ADVANCE and our partnership with GMU was confirmed: the U.S. Department of Education and the Community College Research Center shared that our two institutions have one of the most successful transfer relationships in the country. The difference we make for our students by working closely and effectively together is transformational, and it busts one final myth that community colleges and universities have been focused on improving transfer pathways for more than seven decades, a long and rocky journey, and that calls into question the very possibility of seamless transfer. As our relationship with GMU — and other valued transfer partners — shows, this may be the biggest myth of all. With your leadership, NOVA has raised the bar and made smooth transfer both possible and probable for our students, changing and strengthening thousands of futures each year. Thank you for making us and keeping us boldly NOVA!

Anne