A Post-Transfer Pathways Program for Improving Transfer Success in Undergraduate Computing and Engineering

Danyelle Ireland; Jordan Esiason; Amanda Menier; Rebecca Zarch

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Conference: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Start Date: June 26, 2022
End Date: June 29, 2022
Conference Session: First-Year Programs Division Technical Session 6: Admissions, Transfer Pathways, and Major Selection
Page Count: 16
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--41551
Permanent URL: https://strategy.asee.org/41551
Download Count: 307

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Paper Authors

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Danyelle Ireland University of Maryland Baltimore County

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Dr. Danyelle Tauryce Ireland is a scholar-practitioner with expertise in culturally relevant pedagogy, transfer student success, and racial and gender identity in computing and engineering education. She is associate director of the Center for Women in Technology, research assistant professor in the Engineering and Computing Education Program, and affiliate faculty in Gender, Women's + Sexuality Studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Dr. Ireland’s work centers on the intersectional nature of social, academic, and occupational identities among underrepresented students in computing and engineering majors, and factors impacting academic motivation and persistence. She also examines the relationship between identity and motivation and the psychology of intersectionality in STEM education. Dr. Ireland holds a B.A. in African American studies and family studies from the University of Maryland, College Park and a Ph.D. in educational psychology from Howard University.

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Jordan Esiason

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Jordan Esiason joined SageFox as a Research Assistant in 2018 while completing degrees for his two passions in Mathematics and Music Composition at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and graduated in the spring of 2019. Jordan has previously been employed as a Special Projects Assistant for the Residential Life department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst where he was responsible for performing benchmarking research and reporting, among other duties. When not at work he can be found writing music, tinkering with his 3D printer, or buying more house plants that he doesn't have room for.

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Amanda Menier

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Amanda Menier joined SageFox Consulting Group in 2019. Amanda has a Master of Arts in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Montclair State University and is interested in the way that people shape and are shaped by the institutions in their lives. Amanda's current research is focusing on transfer students in STEM pathways and nonbinary and trans students in STEM.

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Rebecca Zarch

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Abstract

MOTIVATION - This Complete Research paper presents the results of a research project designed to support transfer success in undergraduate computing and engineering. This project responds to the national priority to increase the number and diversity of new computing and engineering graduates by providing academic and social integration support to transfer students from community colleges who are pursuing a bachelor’s degree in a computing or engineering field. It addresses the following research question: Do the academic and social supports of a Post-Transfer Pathways (PTP) program improve transfer outcomes in computing and engineering education? We specifically report on the process and outcomes of two interventions designed to support transfer student success, a Pre- and Post-Transfer Success Advising (TSA) model and a Transfer Seminar (TRS) for first year transfer students in computing and engineering majors at a mid-sized public research university (UNIV).

BACKGROUND - One of the major points of challenge along the STEM career pathway occurs between community colleges and universities. Beginning at a community college can negatively impact bachelor’s degree attainment, due to the realities of the difficulties associated with transferring and low retention rates after transferring. The TSA and TRS interventions were implemented to mitigate these issues by enhancing existing models of support and creating new supports for transfer student success. First we enhanced the nature of academic advising, which is typically based at one institution. Our Pre- and Post-TSA model was designed to seamlessly ease the transition from the two-year to four-year institution by providing advising at both the sending and receiving institution. In addition to having their questions and concerns addressed throughout the transfer process, PTP participants built a relationship with the same advisor while they were at the community college and continued to cultivate that relationship upon transfer to UNIV. Additionally, first-year seminars are often designed and implemented at the institutional level to increase retention, completion, and success among STEM undergraduate students; however, departmentally tailored first-year seminars for transfer students are far less common. The TRS approach is unique in that the curriculum and delivery model for the transfer first-year experience was developed by an interdisciplinary team of computing and engineering faculty experts and advising professionals for delivery within the context of the students’ disciplines. The curriculum was tailored and co-delivered by peer mentors (advanced transfer students in the major) to address the unique academic, social and professional development needs of new transfer students. This innovative approach leverages the resources and infrastructure of institutional first-year programs and retention efforts while utilizing computing and engineering faculty expertise and departmental connectedness.

METHODS - We used a longitudinal data set obtained from the UNIV institutional research office to compare GPA and major persistence outcomes for PTP participants and their transfer student peers in computing and engineering. Students were assigned one of six cohorts based on the academic year and semester that they transferred to UNIV in order to allow for the detection of immediate and sustained program effects as well as to control for a general upward trend in GPA over time. Chi-square tests were used to determine the homogeneity of different subgroups of students. Spearman’s correlation coefficients, linear & logistic regression, and penalized maximum likelihood regression were performed to determine the effect of treatment variables upon outcomes such as GPA and persistence in major. All tests were performed on all cohorts where applicable, both in aggregate and individually in order to control for possible differences in cohort composition/performance.

RESULTS - All PTP supports were found to be significantly associated with improved GPA outcomes among participants in their second academic year. This benefit appeared in the first cohort of PTP students and persisted through subsequent cohorts for which we have second year data. This effect was distinct from the general upward trend experienced by all student cohorts over time. . With regard to persistence in major, only the Post-TSA intervention was found to have a significant effect. Benefits from the PTP program were observed when analyzed across demographic groups, although some seemed to benefit more than others. For example, the effect seemed more pronounced for female students, computing students, students who lived on campus, and students not from racial or ethnic groups currently underrepresented in computing and engineering. Our analysis of persistence in major was limited by the very small number (n=10) of PTP students who did not persist in their major. We discuss participant outcomes by race/ethnicity and gender as well as the policy, practice, and future research implications of this work.

Citation
Format

Ireland, D., & Esiason, J., & Menier, A., & Zarch, R. (2022, August), A Post-Transfer Pathways Program for Improving Transfer Success in Undergraduate Computing and Engineering Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41551

TY - CPAPER
AB - MOTIVATION - This Complete Research paper presents the results of a research project designed to support transfer success in undergraduate computing and engineering. This project responds to the national priority to increase the number and diversity of new computing and engineering graduates by providing academic and social integration support to transfer students from community colleges who are pursuing a bachelor’s degree in a computing or engineering field. It addresses the following research question: Do the academic and social supports of a Post-Transfer Pathways (PTP) program improve transfer outcomes in computing and engineering education? We specifically report on the process and outcomes of two interventions designed to support transfer student success, a Pre- and Post-Transfer Success Advising (TSA) model and a Transfer Seminar (TRS) for first year transfer students in computing and engineering majors at a mid-sized public research university (UNIV).

BACKGROUND - One of the major points of challenge along the STEM career pathway occurs between community colleges and universities. Beginning at a community college can negatively impact bachelor’s degree attainment, due to the realities of the difficulties associated with transferring and low retention rates after transferring. The TSA and TRS interventions were implemented to mitigate these issues by enhancing existing models of support and creating new supports for transfer student success. First we enhanced the nature of academic advising, which is typically based at one institution. Our Pre- and Post-TSA model was designed to seamlessly ease the transition from the two-year to four-year institution by providing advising at both the sending and receiving institution. In addition to having their questions and concerns addressed throughout the transfer process, PTP participants built a relationship with the same advisor while they were at the community college and continued to cultivate that relationship upon transfer to UNIV. Additionally, first-year seminars are often designed and implemented at the institutional level to increase retention, completion, and success among STEM undergraduate students; however, departmentally tailored first-year seminars for transfer students are far less common. The TRS approach is unique in that the curriculum and delivery model for the transfer first-year experience was developed by an interdisciplinary team of computing and engineering faculty experts and advising professionals for delivery within the context of the students’ disciplines. The curriculum was tailored and co-delivered by peer mentors (advanced transfer students in the major) to address the unique academic, social and professional development needs of new transfer students. This innovative approach leverages the resources and infrastructure of institutional first-year programs and retention efforts while utilizing computing and engineering faculty expertise and departmental connectedness.

METHODS - We used a longitudinal data set obtained from the UNIV institutional research office to compare GPA and major persistence outcomes for PTP participants and their transfer student peers in computing and engineering. Students were assigned one of six cohorts based on the academic year and semester that they transferred to UNIV in order to allow for the detection of immediate and sustained program effects as well as to control for a general upward trend in GPA over time. Chi-square tests were used to determine the homogeneity of different subgroups of students. Spearman’s correlation coefficients, linear & logistic regression, and penalized maximum likelihood regression were performed to determine the effect of treatment variables upon outcomes such as GPA and persistence in major. All tests were performed on all cohorts where applicable, both in aggregate and individually in order to control for possible differences in cohort composition/performance.

RESULTS - All PTP supports were found to be significantly associated with improved GPA outcomes among participants in their second academic year. This benefit appeared in the first cohort of PTP students and persisted through subsequent cohorts for which we have second year data. This effect was distinct from the general upward trend experienced by all student cohorts over time. . With regard to persistence in major, only the Post-TSA intervention was found to have a significant effect. Benefits from the PTP program were observed when analyzed across demographic groups, although some seemed to benefit more than others. For example, the effect seemed more pronounced for female students, computing students, students who lived on campus, and students not from racial or ethnic groups currently underrepresented in computing and engineering. Our analysis of persistence in major was limited by the very small number (n=10) of PTP students who did not persist in their major. We discuss participant outcomes by race/ethnicity and gender as well as the policy, practice, and future research implications of this work.

AU - Danyelle Ireland
AU - Jordan Esiason
AU - Amanda Menier
AU - Rebecca Zarch
CY - Minneapolis, MN
DA - 2022/08/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - A Post-Transfer Pathways Program for Improving Transfer Success in Undergraduate Computing and Engineering
UR - https://strategy.asee.org/41551
DO - 10.18260/1-2--41551
ER -