Exploring the Impact of Transfer Capital on Community College Transfer Students

This paper reports on one aspect of a larger study designed to re-examine the Laanan-Transfer Students' Questionnaire (L-TSQ), an instrument exploring adjustment following transfer to a four-year institution (Laanan, 1998, 2004). In particular, it reports on nine new constructs added to the L-TSQ, which expand the understanding of transfer student capital. Results suggest that transfer student capital plays an important role in community college student success at the university. Transfer student capital is a significant predictor of university GPA, indicating that students with higher levels of transfer student capital (determined by collaboration and experiences with faculty at the community college and motivation and self-efficacy) academically out-performed those with lower levels of transfer student capital. Also, mentoring (a component of transfer student capital) is a significant predictor of student ability to cope actively with their problems. Finally, students with greater transfer student capital, as measured by experiences with financial knowledge and general courses and formal collaboration with faculty at the community college, have higher levels of satisfaction with academics and advising at the university.