Community College Students Achieve Their Goals with Transfer Guarantee Program
Students Who Transfer to Complete 4-Year Degrees at Independent Colleges Succeed Academically and Unlock Financial Support
Boston, MA — March 14, 2024 — The New England Transfer Guarantee released its second annual enrollment report showing that community college students transferring to four-year private not-for-profit institutions perform well academically, unlock financial support previously unavailable to them, and bring diverse life experiences to their new campuses.
The report features analysis of data on community college students transferring to independent colleges in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island during the program’s first two full academic years (2021 and 2022). The program enables eligible community college graduates to transfer into participating four-year (baccalaureate) institutions with a simpler application process and admission guaranteed. 35 colleges and universities in these three states participate in the Transfer Guarantee Program.
Executive Summary: New England Transfer Guarantee
Second Annual Enrollment Report
Each of the state-specific admissions guarantees that, together, comprise The New England Transfer Guarantee is shaped by a singular central goal: to increase the salience of transfer statewide so that it is an attainable option for students at various stages of their academic journey. The thinking here has always been that the NEBHE Transfer Initiatives Team can serve a facilitating role in helping connect community college graduates—who we know often intend to complete their bachelor’s degrees—with the four-year transfer destinations where they can follow through on that intention by earning a baccalaureate credential.
In the time since the publication of the inaugural enrollment report, there has been a renewed emphasis on community college transfer at both the federal and state level—influenced by the challenges introduced by the Supreme Court decision banning the use of affirmative action in college admissions decisions and, more generally, the realization that the nation would fall short of the federal completion goals that were set over a decade ago. In Massachusetts, it has been rewarding to see the Guarantee cited in guidance issued by the governor and attorney general on how to meet diversity and equity goals in the wake of the ban on affirmative action. The partnerships that were forged between two and four-year institutions in this initiative have also been cited in a legislatively mandated feasibility study on free community college in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As NEBHE embarks on a new chapter in its efforts to increase access to higher education in prison in the wake of the July 2023 reinstatement of Pell Grants for all eligible incarcerated learners, a focus on credit mobility has again raised the relevance of the networks built through the Guarantee. Now more than ever, it seems efficient and reliable transfer pathways will be key to achieving the equitable and affordable higher education system of the future.