FLA Professor Tara Hudson conducted research with two students that uses the Loss/Momentum Framework to identify common barriers encountered by Ohio students at various phases of their journeys to transfer from community colleges to four-year institutions. The study, which was funded by Ascendium Education Group, was featured in an article that recently appeared in Inside Higher Ed.
Research reveals that the vast majority of first-year community college students have a desire to earn a bachelor’s degree. However, only about a third of those students actually transfer to a four-year institution. Moreover, even fewer students complete a bachelor’s degree within a six year timeframe.
To remedy this problem, community colleges and four-year institutions need to re-examine existing policies and practices that may support or inhibit the transfer process. The Loss/Momentum Framework (LMF) is designed to assist in identifying interactions between an institution and its students that can either propel (momentum points) or impede (loss points) progress toward degree completion. The LMF has served as a useful tool for community colleges and state systems seeking to improve degree completion and vertical transfer outcomes. The study's findings emphasize the need for community colleges and four-year institutions to work together to ensure advising practices, credit transfer policies and financial aid packages foster transfer students' momentum toward bachelor degree completion, rather than create obstacles that lead students to abandon their educational aspirations.
An Assistant Professor and MEd Program Coordinator of the Higher Education Administration and Student Affairs program in the School of Foundations, Leadership & Administration, Hudson worked with two students to complete the study. Beth Nahlik is a Ph.D. student in the Higher Education Administration program. Lindsay Nelson is a 2021 graduate of the Higher Education Administration program. She now works as graduate coordinator in the Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences program at the University of Colorado.
--Pictured, (left to right) Tara Hudson, Beth Nahlik, Lindsay Nelson