The Missing Link: Adult Learners and the Transfer Process

By Student-Ready Strategies

At Student-Ready Strategies (SRS), we see firsthand how institutions have worked to meet the needs of adult students, who we define by their complex lives and competing obligations rather than by age alone. However, one area that remains under-addressed is the support for adult students who transfer among institutions. Adult learners make up 23 percent of transfer students, with most attending part-time (64%) and a majority being women (62%). Additionally, transfer enrollment among adults aged 40+ rose by nearly 12 percent from fall 2022 to fall 2023. Yet only 6 percent of adult transfers graduate with a bachelor's degree within six years after starting community college - a success rate 10 percentage points lower than their younger peers.^[1] Adult learners make up a significant portion of higher education, yet many transfer processes are still tailored to traditional-aged students. It’s time to focus on actionable, institution-wide strategies that address the unique challenges adult students face when transferring.

Many institutions are well-acquainted with the barriers facing adult students: time constraints, financial pressure, family obligations, and navigating outdated policies. But when adult students seek to transfer to a four-year college, these barriers become even more complex. When it comes to transforming the transfer experience for adult learners, institutions need to focus on three key areas: pathways, policy, and process. Adult transfer students are looking for streamlined pathways that clarify which credits transfer and how long it will take to complete their degree. Additionally, policies must be revised to support adult students better, and processes should be simplified to reduce administrative barriers, ensuring students can transition smoothly into four-year programs.

Transforming Transfer for Adult Students
To create seamless transitions for adult transfer students, institutions should focus on three aforementioned areas: pathways, policy, and process. Here are some actionable strategies and immediate steps you can take:

Streamlined Pathways
Building clear and effective transfer pathways is crucial for adult learners. Institutions should work closely with frequent transfer partners to ensure that students who intend to transfer know which courses to take to prepare to transfer, and that these courses transfer smoothly and count toward degree requirements at the transfer destination.

Action Item: Determine whether your state or system has streamlined transfer pathways in place. Key Questions to Answer: If they exist, how well is your institution aligning with those pathways? Are you routinely advising students about them?

Action Item: Determine whether there are existing structured transfer pathways between your institution and partner colleges. Key Question to Answer: Are our pathways well-defined, and how can we strengthen them to better serve adult learners?

Student-Centered Policy
Regularly review and revise institutional policies to streamline transfer processes. These policies may span various departments - admissions, advising, transfer and articulation, registrar, and academic affairs. Involve the campus community in policy development, using disaggregated student data to identify policy impacts and guide changes.

Action Item: Review your institutional policies that may impact adult transfer students. Key Questions to Answer: Do those policies create an equitable environment for adult learners when compared to younger students? What policies need to be examined? What steps need to be followed to change them?

Processes
Institutions must ensure that their internal processes for transfer students are clear and efficient. Streamlining processes such as clear communication, transcript evaluation, transfer credit articulation, and onboarding will remove barriers for adult transfer students.

Action Item: Review your website content related to transfer with fresh eyes, or perhaps even have students give you feedback about the processes. Key Question to Answer: How well does your transfer content communicate to adult learners?

Action Item: Talk to adult learners who have transferred into your institution about their experience with your processes. Key Questions to Answer: What did they find challenging? What seemed to them to be unnecessarily complicated? What was clear and what lacked transparency? How could processes be improved in light of this feedback?

Supporting adult transfer students requires more than good intentions; it demands a shift in institutional culture, communication, and policy. For additional action items and detailed strategies on how your institution can better serve adult transfer students, watch the recording of our CAEL webinar, "Breaking Down Transfer Barriers: Ensuring Seamless Transitions for Adult Students."

Short on capacity? SRS can help you enact these recommended changes. Get in touch with us if you would like to explore a partnership.

[1]National Security Research Center. (2023). Transfer and Progress Fall 2023 Report. https://nscresearchcenter.org/transfer-and-progress/