SSRL examines GPA drop

The Student Success Research Lab has published an article in the Journal of College Student Retention examining GPA drop for transfer and campus change students.

The article, entitled Transfer Shock and Resilience: How Transfer-Related GPA Drop and Rebound Predict Student Departure from a Flagship University Campus, examined the predictors, extent, and consequences of GPA drop among transfer and campus change students.

SSRL researchers examined the administrative data of over 25,000 transfer and campus change students, and found an average first-term drop of -0.30 GPA points; however, the impact of this “transfer shock” on students’ long-term outcomes was dependent on initial GPA, the steepness of the drop, and the student’s ability to rebound in their second term. To support transfer student retention and graduation, sending institutions can help students to pre-appraise the potential setback as normal and temporary, while receiving institutions can provide proactive outreach to transfers who arrive with a GPA below 2.0 or who suffer a GPA drop steeper than -0.50 in their first term. For more detail, see the journal article or the one-page summary.

This study was supported by the Joyce Foundation.