SSRL Director appears on Higher Education Podcasts
In May and June 2023, Dr. Jaggars was featured on two episodes of the podcast Office Hours with Dr. DeVeau, based on her work with the national Beyond Transfer Policy Advisory Board (PAB). Drawing upon research, members’ diverse professional experiences and areas of expertise, and a collective willingness to innovate to challenge the status quo, the PAB works to dismantle inequitable transfer policies and practices. Recently the PAB released the “No Easy Answers” series of three white papers, which delve deeper into common yet questionable policies and practices related to students who transfer between institutions. Dr. Jaggars discussed these issues in the two podcasts along with other PAB members.
In the “Campus Approach to Transfers: A Bad Business Model” episode, guests discussed how institutional decision-makers respond to short-term budgeting rewards, which can create barriers to student transfer and ultimately undercut long-term financial rewards. For example, imagine that a student majoring in physics wishes to transfer a calculus course. The math department may benefit by denying the credits and charge tuition for the student to re-take the course, but this decision may harm the physics department and the larger institution, because the student may be less likely to persist and complete the physics degree. Moreover, if an institution gains a reputation for not accepting credits, the institution could become less appealing to students looking to transfer.
In “The Financial & Time to Completion Disadvantage Felt by Transfer Students” episode, guests discussed key transition points for students who transfer, and how current transfer-related policies and processes tend to increase price or time-to-degree at each transition point. For example, among students who are interested in transfer, it is typically unclear how their previous work and learning experiences will apply to completion of different majors across different destination institutions. As a result, students cannot make an informed decision about which destination major and transfer institution will be most financially efficient.
Across both episodes, Dr. Jaggars and other PAB members helped clarify how commonly-implemented policies and practices are inequitable for students who transfer, and provided recommendations for institutional and state-level policy changes.
Spotify Links
Campus Approach to Transfers: A Bad Business Model
The Financial & Time to Completion Disadvantage Felt by Transfer Students