The cost of higher education is one of the biggest challenges facing students today. The rising cost of tuition has led many to look for ways to make college more affordable, and one way to do that is through transferring.
In Kentucky, transferring is an essential strategy for achieving the state’s educational attainment goal of 60% of the population with a postsecondary credential or degree by 2030.
The Value Of Transferring
Transferring from a community college to a university can save students a significant amount of money. The cost of attending community college is much less than attending a university.
In Kentucky, the average net price annually is $6,000 for KCTCS and $13,000 for public universities. The cost for private universities is even higher at $18,000. Students who complete a bachelor’s degree after receiving an associate degree have higher incomes than those who did not transfer.
Associate graduates earn $37,000 annually while bachelor’s graduates earn $63,000 annually. The lifetime earnings premium of a bachelor’s over an associate degree is $590,000 in Kentucky.
However, too few transfer-aspiring students reach their goal of a bachelor’s degree. From 2020 to 2021, nearly 30,000 students were on a transfer pathway pursuing an Associate of Arts (AA) or Associate of Science (AS) degree in a Kentucky Community and Technical College. By 2026 to 2027, 77% of these students will not have transferred yet, and only 23% will transfer to a university.
To increase the number of students who transfer, Kentucky has implemented a strategy to connect the transfer path. One of the key solutions is transfer pathways, where students must decide what major and career path to pursue.
Institutions must work together to map major requirements and career pathways from the community college to every bachelor’s program. Kentucky’s transfer website maps clear transfer pathways and is a tool for transfer advising.
Transfer advising is another solution, where students meet with transfer advisors to chart, continue, and complete the path to a bachelor’s degree. Proactive advising with regular checkups can increase on-time graduation rates by as much as 21%.
Transfer credit is also crucial, as students who transfer more than 50% of their community college credits are 2.5 times more likely to earn a bachelor’s degree.
Connecting the path from community colleges to universities is vital to transfer success, and it is an equity issue. Nationally, white students are twice as likely to transfer as Black and Hispanic students.
Students from families with higher incomes are also twice as likely to transfer as students from families with lower incomes. Early momentum milestones improve transfer success for all students with significant additional benefits for Black and Hispanic students.
Conclusion
In conclusion, transferring is an essential strategy for students pursuing a higher education degree. It is a cost-effective way to earn a bachelor’s degree and increase your earning potential. Kentucky’s transfer pathway solutions have been implemented to increase the number of students who transfer and complete a bachelor’s degree.
Connecting the path from community colleges to universities is vital to transfer success and an equity issue that must be addressed. By implementing transfer pathway solutions, Kentucky is on track to achieving its educational attainment goal of 60% of the population with a postsecondary credential or degree by 2030.
