Can Transfer and Articulation Policies Propel Community College Students to a Bachelor’s Degree—and Is This the Only Goal?

June 2009
Betheny Gross, Dan Goldhaber

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This policy review summarizes research completed as part of the Community Colleges and Higher Education initiative. The brief considers more broadly the role of the transfer and articulation policies in higher education policy and administration. The authors argue that, although research (including their own) has consistently failed to find a direct connection between state transfer and articulation policies and students’ post-secondary outcomes, these policies may still be valuable by minimizing the costs of transferring an ever-rising number of students who attempt to transfer. The authors conclude by offering a few recommendations on how to improve these policies to serve this administrative function and how to focus future examinations of transfer and articulation policies.