Rates of Intra-University Transfer for General College Students
Annual report
July 2003
General College Office of Research and Evaluation
This report presents intra-university transfer rates (i.e. transfer to other academic programs on the Twin Cities campus) for General College Freshman cohorts from 1995 to 2001. Freshman cohorts are comprised of all Fall New High School (NHS) admit students who were registered full or part-time at the end of the second week of their first Fall term. Transfer rates for cohorts prior to 1995 can be found at http://www.gen.umn.edu/research/institutional/recent_transfer.html.
Due to the University's conversion from a quarter to a semester-based system as of the 1999/2000 academic year, and the fact that this report contains transfer outcomes for both quarter and semester cohorts, there are some things to note about the data contained herein: In past strictly quarter system transfer reports, transfer by 1-year after entry was a common checkpoint; however, this checkpoint is no longer adequate since the transfer timeline for the semester-based cohorts is different from that of quarter-based cohorts. Under the quarter system, students could complete the minimum transfer requirements after their first Fall and Winter quarters, submit a transfer application during Spring quarter, and effectively transfer to another unit the following Fall term. Under the semester system, this progression has been delayed; if students wish to transfer by their second Fall term they must still file their application in Spring, but as of their first Spring term, they will not have enough coursework completed to meet minimum transfer requirements. Therefore, the 1-year transfer rate has drastically declined for semester-based cohorts, and thus no longer appears to be a suitable benchmark. In this report, transfer rates are reported in whole and partial year time increments, and cross cohort comparisons are made using 1.5-year transfer rates (rather than 1-year transfer rates). Whole and partial year transfer rates are calculated as follows:
| whole year transfer rates (i.e. 1-year, 2-years, etc.) reflect: | partial year transfer rates (i.e. 1.5-years, 2.5-years,etc) reflect: | |
| quarter-based cohorts (Fall 1998 and earlier) | transfer by 2nd (1-year transfer), 3rd (2-year transfer), etc. Fall term | transfer by 2nd (1.5-year transfer), 3rd (2.5-year transfer), etc. Winter/Spring term |
| semester-based cohorts (Fall 1999 and later) | transfer by 2nd (1.5-year transfer), 3rd (2.5-year transfer), etc. Spring term |
While perusing this report, (especially when making cross cohort comparisons) the reader should keep in mind how semester conversion has impacted GC transfer outcomes.
Report Contents:
Transfer Rates by Ethnic Background
General College Freshman Cohort Transfer Rates Within the University of Minnesota
|
Transferred within: |
||||||
| Cohort | 1 year | 1.5 years | 2 years | |||
| N | % | N | % | N | % | |
| Fall 1995 | 233 | 29.1% | 331 | 41.3% | 386 | 48.2% |
| Fall 1996 | 236 | 28.3% | 320 | 38.4% | 400 | 48.0% |
| Fall 1997 | 332 | 35.0% | 428 | 45.1% | 517 | 54.5% |
| Fall 1998 | 299 | 30.8% | 357 | 36.8% | 423 | 43.6% |
| Fall 1999* | 46 | 5.0% | 252 | 27.5% | 410 | 44.8% |
| Fall 2000 | 74 | 8.0% | 195 | 21.0% | 363 | 39.0% |
| Fall 2001 | 58 | 6.5% | 172 | 19.4% | ||
|
Transferred within: |
||||||||
| Cohort | 2.5 years | 3 years | 3.5 years | 4 or more years | ||||
| N | % | N | % | N | % | N | % | |
| Fall 1995 | 410 | 51.2% | 432 | 53.9% | 444 | 55.4% | 482 | 60.1% |
| Fall 1996 | 434 | 52.1% | 464 | 55.7% | 472 | 56.7% | 499 | 59.8% |
| Fall 1997 | 533 | 56.2% | 559 | 58.9% | 577 | 60.8% | 595 | 62.8% |
| Fall 1998 | 471 | 48.5% | 514 | 52.9% | 527 | 54.3% | 553 | 57.0% |
| Fall 1999* | 465 | 50.8% | 533 | 58.2% | 547 | 59.7% | ||
| Fall 2000 | 422 | 45.4% | ||||||
* Throughout the report, the first semester-based cohort is marked with an asterisk.
At 1.5 years after entry, the transfer rate for the Fall 1999 cohort lags behind previous cohorts' transfer rates. However, by 2-years after entry, the Fall 1999 cohort transfer rates are more commensurate with previous cohorts' transfer rates. Transfer rates continue to decline for Fall 2000 and 2001 cohorts; 1.5 year transfer rates for these cohorts are lower than previous cohorts' 1.5 year transfer rates and by two years after entry, transfer rates for these cohorts still lag behind previous cohorts. Under the semester system, 1 year transfer rates are still below 10%. Based upon registration records thus far for Fall 2003, the projected 2-year transfer rate for the Fall 2001 cohort is approximately 39%, which is the same as last year's projected 2-year transfer rate for the 2000 cohort.
Proportion of Non-Transferred Students Who Were Sill Enrolled in the 2002-2003 Academic Year
| Cohort | Total number not transferred | % retained 2002-2003 |
| Fall 1995 | 320 | <1.0% |
| Fall 1996 | 336 | 2.7 |
| Fall 1997 | 353 | 2.3 |
| Fall 1998 | 418 | 4.3 |
| Fall 1999* | 369 | 12.7 |
| Fall 2000 | 429 | 27.0 |
| Fall 2001 | 544 | 66.9 |
Programs Into Which General College Students Have Transferred
|
Academic program |
Cohort |
|||||||||
| Fall 1997 | Fall 1998 | Fall 1999* | Fall 2000 | Fall 2001 | ||||||
|
N |
% |
N |
% |
N |
% |
N |
% |
N |
% |
|
|
Carlson School of Management |
6 |
1.0% |
5 |
.9% |
3 |
.5% |
5 |
1.0% |
4 |
1.2% |
|
School of Dentistry |
0 |
-- |
0 |
-- |
0 |
-- |
4 |
.8% |
1 |
.3% |
|
Dental Hygiene Program |
0 |
-- |
0 |
.2% |
0 |
-- |
0 |
-- |
0 |
-- |
|
Col of Educ/Human Development |
15 |
2.5% |
20 |
3.6% |
34 |
6.2% |
26 |
5.2% |
11 |
3.2% |
|
Institute of Technology |
11 |
1.8% |
11 |
2.0% |
20 |
3.7% |
13 |
2.6% |
8 |
2.3% |
|
College of Biological Sciences |
1 |
.2% |
1 |
.2% |
6 |
1.1% |
6 |
1.2% |
4 |
1.2% |
|
Medical School |
0 |
-- |
0 |
-- |
1 |
.2% |
2 |
.4% |
0 |
-- |
|
School of Nursing |
0 |
-- |
0 |
-- |
3 |
.5% |
3 |
.6% |
5 |
1.5% |
|
College of Liberal Arts |
490 |
82.4% |
450 |
81.4% |
368 |
67.4% |
357 |
71.4% |
257 |
74.9% |
|
Coll of Continuing Education |
18 |
3.0% |
23 |
4.2% |
26 |
4.8% |
15 |
3.0% |
4 |
1.2% |
|
Col of Arch & Landscape Arch |
1 |
.2% |
0 |
-- |
8 |
1.5% |
7 |
1.4% |
4 |
1.2% |
|
Col of Agri, Food & Envrn Sci |
23 |
3.9% |
11 |
2.0% |
28 |
5.1% |
22 |
4.4% |
11 |
3.2% |
|
College Natural Resources |
5 |
.8% |
6 |
1.1% |
9 |
1.6% |
8 |
1.6% |
3 |
.9% |
|
College of Human Ecology |
25 |
4.2% |
25 |
4.5% |
40 |
7.3% |
31 |
6.2% |
31 |
9.0% |
|
Multi-Institution Undergrad |
0 |
-- |
0 |
-- |
0 |
-- |
1 |
.2% |
0 |
-- |
Major Areas in First Transfer Term (declared major or pre-major) for GC Transfer Students
|
Major area |
Cohort |
|||||||||
| Fall 1997 | Fall 1998 | Fall 1999 | Fall 2000 | Fall 2001 | ||||||
|
N |
% |
N |
% |
N |
% |
N |
% |
N |
% |
|
|
Architecture/Interior Design |
12 |
2.0% |
22 |
4.0% |
17 |
3.1% |
17 |
3.4% |
5 |
1.5% |
|
Biological/Natural Sciences (agriculture, biology, geology) |
33 |
5.5% |
31 |
5.6% |
33 |
6.0% |
31 |
6.2% |
14 |
4.1% |
|
Business (e.g. management, marketing, economics) |
101 |
17.0% |
62 |
11.2% |
43 |
7.9% |
43 |
8.6% |
23 |
6.7% |
|
Communication (e.g. journalism, mass communication) |
52 |
8.7% |
49 |
8.9% |
57 |
10.4% |
55 |
11.0% |
42 |
12.2% |
|
Computer Science |
22 |
3.7% |
19 |
3.4% |
11 |
2.0% |
8 |
1.6% |
0 |
-- |
|
Education |
28 |
4.7% |
38 |
6.9% |
18 |
3.3% |
11 |
2.2% |
6 |
1.7% |
|
Fine Arts/Design |
31 |
5.2% |
20 |
3.6% |
30 |
5.5% |
23 |
4.6% |
13 |
3.8% |
|
Hard Sciences (e.g. chemistry, physics, engineering, math) |
21 |
3.5% |
21 |
3.8% |
15 |
2.7% |
19 |
3.8% |
3 |
.9% |
|
Health Sciences (e.g. nursing, pharmacy, nutrition) |
43 |
7.2% |
29 |
5.2% |
8 |
1.5% |
14 |
2.8% |
10 |
2.9% |
|
Humanities (e.g. English, foreign language) |
59 |
9.9% |
56 |
10.1% |
62 |
11.4% |
35 |
7.0% |
15 |
4.4% |
|
Other (e.g. University College, Individual Study) |
33 |
5.5% |
31 |
5.6% |
50 |
9.2% |
30 |
6.0% |
20 |
5.8% |
|
Social Sciences (e.g. psychology, sociology, human ecology) |
93 |
15.6% |
109 |
19.7% |
127 |
23.3% |
88 |
17.6% |
32 |
9.3% |
|
Sprot Studies/Kinesiology |
17 |
2.9% |
13 |
2.4% |
13 |
2.4% |
12 |
2.4% |
3 |
.9% |
|
Undecided/Undeclared |
50 |
8.4% |
53 |
9.6% |
62 |
11.4% |
114 |
22.8% |
157 |
45.8% |
Distribution of AAR for Freshman Cohorts
1.5 Year Transfer Rates by AAR
| Cohort | statistic |
AAR Category: |
|||||
| <=69 | 70-79 | 80-89 | 90-99 | >=100 | missing AAR | ||
| Fall 1995 | Total N | 133 | 153 | 135 | 173 | 112 | 96 |
| % transfer | 28% | 31% | 39% | 47% | 62% | 46% | |
| N transfer | 37 | 48 | 52 | 81 | 69 | 44 | |
| Fall 1996 | Total N | 117 | 121 | 154 | 177 | 194 | 72 |
| % transfer | 22% | 31% | 43% | 40% | 47% | 40% | |
| N transfer | 26 | 38 | 66 | 70 | 91 | 29 | |
| Fall 1997 | Total N | 118 | 129 | 191 | 198 | 233 | 79 |
| % transfer | 31% | 29% | 38% | 53% | 64% | 35% | |
| N transfer | 36 | 38 | 72 | 105 | 149 | 28 | |
| Fall 1998 | Total N | 153 | 135 | 187 | 191 | 222 | 83 |
| % transfer | 17% | 28% | 32% | 49% | 49% | 40% | |
| N transfer | 26 | 38 | 59 | 93 | 108 | 33 | |
| Fall 1999* | Total N | 96 | 130 | 170 | 211 | 225 | 84 |
| % transfer | 31% | 19% | 21% | 31% | 35% | 23% | |
| N transfer | 30 | 25 | 35 | 65 | 78 | 19 | |
| Fall 2000 | Total N | 114 | 148 | 187 | 167 | 200 | 113 |
| % transfer | 8% | 16% | 26% | 18% | 30% | 18% | |
| N transfer | 9 | 24 | 39 | 43 | 60 | 20 | |
| Fall 2001 | Total N | 114 | 148 | 187 | 167 | 210 | 113 |
| % transfer | 11% | 16% | 18% | 22% | 26% | 15% | |
| N transfer | 9 | 19 | 36 | 43 | 50 | 15 | |
Transfer Rates by Ethnic Background
Distribution of Ethnic Background for Freshman Cohorts
| Ethnic group |
Cohort |
|||||||||||
| Fall 1996 | Fall 1997 | Fall 1998 | Fall 1999* | Fall 2000 |
Fall 2001 |
|||||||
| N | % | N | % | N | % | N | % | N | % | N | % | |
| American Indian | 18 | 2.2% | 14 | 1.5% | 13 | 1.3% | 20 | 2.2% | 8 | .9% | 10 | 1.1% |
| Asian | 107 | 12.8% | 108 | 11.4% | 111 | 11.4% | 137 | 15.0% | 136 | 14.6% | 137 | 15.4% |
| Black | 70 | 8.4% | 108 | 11.4% | 95 | 9.8% | 101 | 11.0% | 111 | 11.9% | 126 | 14.2% |
| Hispanic | 26 | 3.1% | 31 | 3.3% | 50 | 5.1% | 30 | 3.3% | 25 | 2.7% | 34 | 3.8% |
| International | 5 | 0.6% | 5 | 0.5% | 5 | 0.5% | 0 | -- | 0 | -- | 0 | -- |
| Unknown | 23 | 2.8% | 39 | 4.1% | 36 | 3.7% | 40 | 4.4% | 29 | 3.1% | 20 | 2.3% |
| White | 586 | 70.2% | 643 | 67.8% | 661 | 68.1% | 587 | 64.2% | 620 | 66.7% | 560 | 63.1% |
1.5 Year Transfer Rates by Ethnic Group
| Ethnicity |
Cohort |
||||||
| Fall 1995 | Fall 1996 | Fall 1997 | Fall 1998 | Fall 1999* | Fall 2000 | Fall 2001 | |
| American Indian | 13% | 11% | 21% | 31% | 10% | 0% | 10% |
| Asian | 59% | 54% | 49% | 32% | 27% | 13% | 18% |
| Black | 24% | 17% | 28% | 25% | 28% | 14% | 10% |
| Hispanic | 24% | 27% | 48% | 20% | 20% | 8% | 15% |
| White | 41% | 39% | 48% | 39% | 29% | 25% | 23% |
| Unknown | 58% | 26% | 49% | 56% | 20% | 21% | 10% |
Transfer Rates by High School Location
High schools from which students graduated were categorized into 10 locality categories as follows:
| High school locale: | comprised of: |
| Minneapolis | Minneapolis public high schools |
| St. Paul | St. Paul public high schools |
| Northeast suburban | public high schools north of 394/94 and east of the Mississippi river |
| Southeast suburban | public high schools south of 394/94 and east of 35W |
| Southwest suburban | public high schools south of 394/94 and west of 35W |
| Northwest suburban | public high schools north of 394/94 and west of the Mississippi river |
| Private-MN | any private high school in Minnesota |
| Outside metro-area MN | any public Minnesota high school outside the Twin Cities metro area |
| Non-MN | any non-Minnesota high school, including foreign high schools |
| Alternative/other type | Minnesota alternative high schools or GED (including non-MN GEDs) |
Distribution of High School Locale for Freshman Cohorts
1.5 Year Transfer Rates by High School Location
| High school locale |
Cohort |
||||||
| Fall 1995 | Fall 1996 | Fall 1997 | Fall 1998 | Fall 1999* | Fall 2000 | Fall 2001 | |
| alternative or other type high school | 35.3% | 20.0% | 18.2% | 14.3% | 16.7% | 10.0% | 0.0% |
| Minneapolis | 32.8% | 23.8% | 38.4% | 32.3% | 15.4% | 3.6% | 10.3% |
| St. Paul | 31.5% | 34.1% | 29.6% | 27.0% | 18.7% | 6.7% | 13.0% |
| NE suburban | 45.0% | 37.4% | 44.0% | 39.1% | 34.0% | 21.7% | 25.0% |
| SE suburban | 37.0% | 48.8% | 44.4% | 34.7% | 24.4% | 24.1% | 25.0% |
| SW suburban | 49.6% | 37.4% | 51.7% | 38.8% | 29.1% | 23.4% | 17.1% |
| NW suburban | 37.7% | 34.4% | 37.5% | 40.0% | 27.4% | 20.0% | 21.4% |
| Private MN | 29.6% | 38.7% | 40.7% | 34.3% | 28.6% | 29.0% | 20.0% |
| outside metro area MN | 37.1% | 36.1% | 48.0% | 34.9% | 32.9% | 24.1% | 20.5% |
| non-MN | 53.5% | 47.4% | 52.2% | 46.2% | 25.6% | 21.4% | 25.0% |
alternative/other category not displayed because of small group size
The series of graphs below demonstrate that the longer students remain in GC before transferring, the less drop on GPA they experience in their first transfer term. However, this appears to be a function of the fact that GC students tend to receive lower grades in non-GC classes: courses which, over time, constitute a higher proportion of students' course-loads, hence lowering their cumulative GPA.
please direct any questions/comments to Jennifer Hatfield at hatf0016@tc.umn.edu