Examining factors that influence successful student transfer between 2YC and 4YC/U in the geosciences Kaatje van der Hoeven Kraft With contributions from Carolyn Wilson & Ben Wolfe

Factors that influence student persistence Integration/ Involvement Self-Regulation Capital Organization Culture AcademicSocial Motivation Extra & Co-curricular Academic SocialCultural Transfer receptivity Transfer shock Learning Strategies Mindset

What factors influence persistence from 2YC to 4YC/U in geoscience programs? National Survey of geoscience graduates at 4YC/U. – 596 total responses – 154 responses (26%) had attended 2YC at some point prior to completion

Factors that contributed to persistence Most commonly identified: personal motivation and transferred courses (Self Regulation & Organizational Culture) Less commonly identified: friends and academic advisors (Integration/ Involvement & Organizational Culture) Implications: – Community is important, but persistence may be more important. – As individuals committed to successful transfer, need to examine how Organizational Culture supports or inhibits student persistence.

Barriers to completing geoscience degree after transfer Four common themes: – Personal issues: time, family & money – Academic challenges: underprepared, math and structural geology – Self-regulation: motivation, emotion, employment of skills – Institutional barriers: transfer pathways, academic advisors, course offerings Many of these factors are true for non-transfer students, but may not be as acute (Wilson, 2014)Wilson, 2014

What can we do in our own classrooms? National Project (GARNET) collected data from introductory geology students.GARNET – students at 4YC/Us – 450+ students at 2YCs – Motivation, interest, use of learning strategies Examined factors that predict persistence from one geology class to another This material is based on work supported by NSF DUE Award #: (part of a collaborative grant) Any opinions, findings, and conclusions are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of NSF

What influences student persistence at classroom level? Students need to be interested in the content and have high self-efficacy in order to choose to persist. The classroom environment helps to dampen that impact Math plays a role with 2YC more so than 4YC/U in making the decision to persist