In the second year of the pandemic, transfer enrollment continued its decline, albeit at a slower rate, according to a new report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (NSCRC).
The report, which was based on data from schools attended by over 13 million undergraduates, found that 296,200 fewer students transferred during the pandemic, a 13.5% decrease. Nearly 2/3 of that loss occurred in year one of the pandemic (2020-21), with the remaining third coming in year two (2021-22). Transfer enrollment declined more than twice as steeply as overall enrollment, suggesting that the dip is not simply because fewer students have started college during the pandemic.
“Transferring during a pandemic is hard,” said Dr. Doug Shapiro, executive director of the NSCRC, in a press briefing. “Imagine navigating two sets of shifting pandemic policies on top of all the transfer policies, without the benefit of in-person advisors or other campus-based support networks.”
All transfer pathways experienced declines, but transfers into two-year institutions were particularly affected. Lateral transfers (two-year to two-year) declined by over 21% and reverse transfers (four-year to two-year) declined by 18%.
“In normal times we consider these pathways to be important backstops to students at risk of dropping out,” said Shapiro. “They enable students to change institutions as their needs and aspirations change. Students who feel trapped in programs that no longer meet their needs are more likely to stop out or drop out altogether. So, these declines are really a problem for all of higher education.”
However, the second year of the pandemic brought a shift in the decline. In year one, the most affected pathway was reverse transfer, but in the second year, the most affected pathway was upward transfer (from two-year to four-year schools).
According to Shapiro, this shift has dual causes.
