1. Pathways – an analytical structure & Transfer student graduation rates
Shoumi Mustafa
November 16, 2017

2. Pathways – An analytical structure & Transfer student graduation rates
How do we map pathways from two-year college associate degrees to four-year college baccalaureate degrees in specific disciplines? Depending on associate degree types, areas of concentration, and preferred baccalaureate degree disciplines, students have varied options leading to baccalaureate degrees. We provide a general analytical framework for mapping the pathways. Specific examples are provided in handouts.
How do our two-year and four-year institutions compare regarding their respective rates of graduation of transfer-out and transfer-in students?
We provide comparable – among institutions – graduation rates for transfer-out and transfer-in students.
Relevant rates for specific sub-populations are included in handouts.

3. From associate to baccalaureate degrees
Associate degrees granted by Ohio public two-year institutions fall in two broad categories:
Applied & Technical:
Associate of Applied Business (AAB); Associate of Applied Science (AAS);
Associate of Technical Studies (ATS) & Associate of Information Technology (AIT).
Arts & Sciences
Associate of Arts (AA) & Associate of Science (AS).
Depending on the associate degree type and the pathways students choose, they have varied options leading to baccalaureate degrees. The required combination of courses in four-year institutions depend on the following:
Type of associate degree & area of concentration
Preferred baccalaureate degree discipline

4. Information for developing pathways
An efficient system eliminates course duplication, and ensures that credits accumulated under associate degrees apply to meeting baccalaureate degree requirements.
In order to develop efficient pathways, we need mappings of pathways leading to prominent baccalaureate degree disciplines; we need information on the following:
Associate degree types + Associate degree area concentrations
Subsequent four-year institution enrollment
Baccalaureate degree receipt
Baccalaureate degree discipline
Baccalaureate degree names and degree granting institutions

5. Two-year college associate degrees in 2009-10: Distribution of degree type
All Associate Degrees*
N: 14,861
Applied/Technical Degrees
N: 11,641
(77.8%)
ATS:
N:344
AAS:
N:8,817
AAB:
N:2,480
Arts/Science Degrees:
N:3,220
(21.5%)
AA:
N:2,157
AS:
N:960
AA & AS:
N:103
AAB: Associate of Applied Business; AAS: Associate of Applied Science; ATS: Associate of Technical Studies;
AA: Associate of Arts; AS: Associate of Science.
*An additional 73 individuals had received both Applied/Technical & Arts/Science degrees, and another 33 had received Associate degrees in Individual Studies. Those 106 students are excluded from the chart.

6. Progression from associate to baccalaureate degrees: All associate degree recipients
All Associate Degrees
N: 14,861
Applied/Technical Degrees
N: 11,641 (77.8%)
Four-year enrollment:
2,575 (22.1%)
Graduation:
1,304 (50.8%)
Arts/Science Degrees:
N:3,220 (22.2%)
1,100 (70.1%)
1,569 (48.8%)
Note: Four-year enrollment refers to attendance at Ohio public four-year main and regional campuses.

7. Framework for mapping pathways: Case study – Baccalaureate degree in Business
In mapping pathways from associate degree types to baccalaureate degrees in business, we combine the associate degrees to obtain the following classifications.
Associate of Applied Business degree recipients
Combined group: (Associate of Applied Science + Associate of Technical Studies) – Business concentration
Combined group: (Associate of Applied Science + Associate of Technical Studies) – Non- Business concentration
Combined group: (Associate of Arts + Associate of Science) – Business concentration
Combined group: (Associate of Arts + Associate of Science) – Non-Business concentration
Note: The following subjects are classified as parts of the Business Discipline by the Higher Education Information System (HEI) of the Ohio Department of Higher Education:
Accounting, Administrative and Secretarial, Business - Other, Computer and Quantitative Business Fields, Finance, General Sales, Merchandising and Related Markets, Human Resources Management and Labor Studies, Logistics, Management, Marketing, and Service Business.

8. Progression to baccalaureate degrees in Business: Numbers
All Associate Degrees
N: 14,861
AAB
N=2,480
Enrollment:
426 (17.2%)
Graduation:
233 (54.7%)
AAS + ATS:
Business Conc.
N=485
87( 17.9%)
52 (59.8%)
Non-Business Conc.
N=8,676
2,062 (23.8%)
1,024 (49.7%)
AA + AS:
N=124
75 (60.5%)
57 (76.0%)
N=3,096
1,495 (48.3%)
1,043 (69.8%)
AAB: Associate of Applied Business; AAS: Associate of Applied Science; ATS: Associate of Technical Studies;
AA: Associate of Arts; AS: Associate of Science.

9. Distribution of baccalaureate degree disciplines: Associate of applied business degrees

10. Distribution of baccalaureate degree disciplines: Associate of applied science & technical studies – business concentration

11. Transfer student graduation rates: How do institutions compare?
Two samples.
Sample 1: First-time (FT) two-year college attendees in
Sample 2: All two-year college attendees in
Statistics:
The number of transfer-out students by two-year institutions.
Graduation rates of transfer-out students by institution.
The number of transfer-in students by four-year institutions.
Graduation rates of transfer-in students by institution.
Data source:
Higher Education Information system (HEI) of the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) and the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC).

12. Sample 1: First-time (FT) two-year college students in 2009-10
Students who attended any public two-year institutions in Ohio between Summer 2009 and Spring 2010 as first-time undergraduates.
Students who had previous enrollments in institutions of higher education as high-school students are included in the sample.

13. Sample 1: FT students Transfer-outs and graduation rates: Definitions
Who is a transfer-out student?
First-time two-year college students from the cohort who attended a four-year university anywhere in the nation within six years from initial enrollment – between and
How do we define graduation rates of transfer-out students for a two- year institution?
A transfer-out student is considered to have graduated if s/he received a baccalaureate degree within six years of initial enrollment – by
We obtain transfer-out graduation rates relevant to a two-year institution by dividing the number of (transfer-out) graduates from the institution by the total number of transfer-out students from the institution.

14. Sample 1: FT students Transfer-out student numbers: By institution

15. Sample 1: FT students Transfer-out graduation rates: By institution

16. Sample 1: FT students Definitions: Transfer-in students and graduation rates
Who is a transfer-in student?
Students from the first-time two-year college cohort who had transferred to Ohio’s public four-year university main campuses within six years of initial enrollment – between and
How do we define graduation rates of transfer-in students for a four- year institution?
A transfer-in student is considered to have graduated if s/he received a baccalaureate degree within six years of initial enrollment – by
We obtain the transfer-in graduation rates relevant to a four-year institution by dividing the number of (transfer-in) graduates to the institution by the total number of transfer-in students to the institution.

17. Sample 1: FT students Transfer-in student numbers: By institution

18. Sample 1: FT students Transfer-in graduation rates: By institution

19. Sample 2: All two-year college students in 2009-10
All students who attended any of the 23 two-year public institutions in Ohio between Summer 2009 and Spring 2010.
The sample includes first-time undergraduates as well as students with previous undergraduate/graduate enrollments.
Sample 1 includes only first-time, Ohio public two-year college students in (the FT sample).
Sample 2, the larger sample, includes all Ohio public two-year college students in
All criteria used in defining transfer-out and transfer-in students, and their respective graduation rates are identical between the two samples.

20. Sample 2: All students Transfer-out student numbers: By institution

21. Sample 2: All students Transfer-out graduation rates: By institution

22. Sample 2: All students Transfer-in student numbers: By institution

23. Sample 2: All students Transfer-in graduation rates: By institution

24. What did we learn? Pathway mapping:
Applied degrees account for between 70% & 80% of all associate degrees granted by Ohio public two-year institutions in a year.
Subsequent four-year college enrollment patterns show potentials for increasing baccalaureate degree numbers; only a fifth of applied associate degree recipients attend four-year institutions.
Graduation rates:
Two-year institutions with strong (regional) ties with four-year institutions have higher rates of transfer-out graduation rates.
High transfer-in graduation rates for four-year institutions receiving large- scale student movements show the other side of the beneficial linkage.