The Two-Letter Word that Costs Transfer Students Billions

One of the core pieces of information colleges and universities routinely convey to their students is a list of courses they must take to graduate. These curricular requirements can be found on the institution’s website, in course catalogs, and in degree pathway course maps. There is a small, but significant word that appears frequently in these course lists: the word “OR.” 

What “or” means to a first-time, first-year student at a four-year institution

To fulfill degree requirements set forth by their institution, every student must take very specific courses related to their major. Accounting majors must take accounting courses. Art majors must take art courses. However, to earn a degree, students must also complete general education courses and electives. Nearly every program of study offers students severa l course options for meeting these requirements. For example, to fulfill humanities general education requirements, students can take any two courses from a list that includes a variety of literature, history, culture, and art classes. In the course catalog or degree map, the language might direct students, “take Creative Writing or Public Speaking” to fulfill a particular requirement. If you are a student attending a four-year institution from start to finish, these options offer you the ability to explore things that interest you to complete general education and electives, with assurance that whatever you pick will count toward your degree. But what if you are a transfer student?

What “or” means to a transfer student

These course lists are also used  when states and systems build transfer pathways for students to communicate which courses students must take at the community college to ensure the courses will transfer to a four-year institution and count toward a bachelor’s degree. The purpose of a guaranteed transfer pathway is to give students guidance on what to take before they transfer, even if they don’t yet know their transfer destination. This solves a significant conundrum that transfer students often narrate in this way: “I need to know where I’m going to transfer to pick the right community college coursework, but I won’t know where I will be accepted and where I can afford until after I’m done with my community college coursework. What should I do?”

The solution to this systemic challenge is to ensure that the pre-transfer course list is the same across a state’s higher education system and is universally accepted at each university. Statewide transfer pathways are typically created by policymakers with that end in mind. However, in the implementation process, when institutions cannot agree on a common curriculum, the disagreement is often reflected in the pathway with the word “or” - accompanied by footnotes or other explanations to capture  institutional differences. For transfer students, the requirement to “take Creative Writing or Public Speaking” often means “take Creative Writing if you want to transfer to University A, but take Public Speaking if you want to transfer to University B. And make sure you read the fine print to figure it out.”

For students who start at a four-year institution, the word “or” means a choice; for transfer students, it often means a contingency. The word “or” documents and perpetuates a persistent barrier to seamless transfer rather than addressing it. A transfer pathway that includes “or” may help students who know early in their academic journey where they intend to transfer, are guaranteed to be admitted, and do not change their mind; for all others, these contingencies perpetuate the uncertainty transfer students face and the phenomenon of credits being lost in the transfer process.

Why “or” makes college less affordable

The aggregate cost of lost transfer credit nationwide is unknown, but even our own high-level estimates are staggering. The National Center for Education Statistics previously reported that transfer students lose an average of 13 credits (about four classes) in the transfer process. The NCES also reports that the average full-time tuition rate for a public university in 2023 was $9,800, which calculates to about $400 per credit. Based on these national averages, transfer students are losing an estimated $5,200 of investment - credits they paid for and completed - as a result of transfer inefficiencies like the word “or.” Scaling this estimate to the 1.2 million students who transfer each year yields an annual price tag of $6.2 billion. That is not an insignificant cost, especially for students and families who were trying to select a more affordable path to a postsecondary credential. 

Tackling the “or” - Advice for policy leaders and practitioners

We offer the following advice as a way to get started to ensure transfer students have a path to a bachelor’s degree that delivers on the true potential of the transfer system: a lower-cost pathway with the same prospects of college success. 

• For state leaders: Examine your state’s policies about transfer pathways. If your state has already passed a policy to create guaranteed transfer pathways, check in on its implementation. Can you find the transfer pathways online? Do they contain the word “or” to signal curricular contingencies? If so, clarify your intent and discuss any concerns with faculty leaders. If you in are one of the 19 states that do not have a transfer pathway policy, now is a great time to adopt one in partnership with institutional and faculty leaders in your state.

  
  

• For institutional leaders, staff, and faculty: Review your articulation agreements. Does the lower-division curriculum contain the same requirements for each 4-year transfer destination, or are they different? Bring together the institutions that represent your common transfer partners to talk about streamlining general education and other lower-division requirements so that students can be given transfer pathways that do not contain the word “or.”

  
  

• For transfer students: Insert your voice and experience into the discussion. Students’ voices are often absent or marginalized in conversations about transfer pathways. While faculty are the keepers of the curriculum, student-led advocacy could go a long way to bringing faculty to the table to create greater consistency and predictability for transfer students. Contact your legislators, share your experience with the state agency that oversees higher education, and reach out to your faculty senate. Make sure your student government leaders know about the issue and use their platforms to advocate for a more student-centered transfer system.

Building clearer transfer pathways without the contingencies represented by the word “or” can be difficult and complicated work. It’s also time well-spent. The result is an improved educational system that promotes social mobility, benefiting states, institutions, and most importantly, today’s students.