Team Aims to Identify Barriers to Transfer for Non-Admitted Students
In spring 2023, Nine workgroup members of the Sacramento K-16 Collaborative participated in the California State University Student Success Analytics program.
The data-based and equity-focused Student Success Analytics curriculum gives higher education faculty, staff, and administrators from across the country the knowledge and opportunity to turn institutional data into action that closes equity gaps for historically underserved students.
For its capstone project, the K16 team combined two Collaborative goals (sending an additional 1,300 young men of color to Sacramento State and UC Davis by 2025 and create more seamless transitions for students transferring between institutions) to create a transfer equity research proposal.
Voted as one of the top four projects in a field of 30 by fellow participants, the team presented their project proposal at the final session in April.
Their research aims to compare application and admission data for students who transferred from the four Los Rios community colleges to Sacramento State and UC Davis between 2018 and 2022 to identify non-admitted applicants, evaluate non-admitted applications against admission criteria, and identify non-admission reason(s).
Using self-reported student demographic data, researchers will compare non-admissions’ attributes to other race/ethnicity groups, evaluate similarities and differences, and determine if trends emerge based on non-admits’ high school or institution of origin.
By identifying trends and potential barriers, the six colleges and universities can work to solve and dissolve barriers for future transfer students. At the same time, student support teams can work with the non-admitted students to advocate and advise on individual cases with the goal of extending future enrollment offers.
Praised for its cross-institutional collaboration, the team included: Beth Broome, UC Davis; John Buckmaster, Elk Grove Unified School District; Paul Edwards, Sacramento State; Sue Hubbard, Elk Grove Unified School District; Ebony Lewis, UC Davis; Bill Macriss, Sacramento State; David Rowe, Los Rios CCD; Steven Salcido, Sacramento State; and Allison Shaw, ProjectAttain!.
The team will next present their proposal to the K16 Priority Student Populations and Transfer Pathways workgroups. If approved, research will begin in Fall 2023.
Visit sacramentok16.org to learn more about this groundbreaking regional collaborative.