For decades, students transferring between colleges was a side road in American higher education. Today, it’s one of the system’s main highways.
The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reports that nearly 1.2 million students, or roughly 13%, transferred to a new institution, an increase of nearly 8% since 2020, prompting Madi Turner of the Oakland Post to call these students “the transfer generation.”
Nearly half of these students move from two-year to four-year institutions, making community colleges a primary launch point for students seeking a bachelor’s degree.
But the transfer pathway is far less dependable than it should be. It’s confusing, inconsistent and costly for those who depend on it, wasting time, credits, money and momentum. What should be a bridge too often becomes a barrier.
A report from the LEARN Commission explains why. It’s a failure of learning mobility or the system colleges use to evaluate and apply learning across institutions. That system is fragmented, opaque and labor-intensive. Decisions are scattered across departments, with little attention to student outcomes.
