Download or read book A Naturalistic Inquiry Into Community College Transfer Students Perception of Adjustment when Transferring to a Larger Research University written by Robert W. Eames (Jr.) and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This dissertation research investigated community college transfer students' perception of the adjustment process that takes place when transferring from a two-year college to a four-year college. The research question is: How do community college transfer students perceive their adjustment experience at the University of Missouri? The University of Missouri is a land grant institution conducting research at a very high level of intensity and is the flagship institution of higher education for Missouri. Participants in this qualitative research were adult community college transfer students 18 years of age or older who attended community college in the state of Missouri and transferred to the University of Missouri with the goal of baccalaureate attainment or admission to a professional program. Data were collected during the final weeks of the spring semester 2013 and during fall semester 2013 using personal interviews and an online survey instrument constructed for this research, Community College Transfer Student Adjustment . Research participants were solicited from lists of community college students transferring to the University of Missouri during the fall semester 2013, seniors who were former community college transfer students who planned to graduate that winter or in the summer 2014, and community college transfer students transferring to the University of Missouri during the fall semester 2013. Total potential participants was N=1040. Email solicitations for interviews and requests to take the online survey produced 49 personal interviews and 88 surveys. Analysis of data was performed using inductive logic, line by line coding, and the constant comparative method. Findings include that community college transfer student adjustment begins when the decision is made to become a community college student who will later transfer to a four-year school with the goal of baccalaureate attainment.

Download or read book Timing is Everything A Comparative Study of the Adjustment Process of Fall and Mid Year Community College Transfer Students at a Public Four Year University written by Scott F. Peska and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many four-year institutions accept community college transfer students at mid-year (i.e., second semester) to recuperate declines in fall semester enrollments (Britt & Hirt, 1999). Students entering mid-year may face unique challenges adjusting and find that the institutional support to assist in their adjustment that is available to students entering in the fall is missing in the spring. This comparative study aimed to explore and explain adjustment of community college transfer students who began in the fall and mid-year terms at a large, public, Midwestern, four-year university. Similar to others, this university admits nearly one in four of its community college transfer students in the spring semester (institutional data, 2006). Tinto (1993) regards the adjustment process as the first step of students becoming integrated in the university community and integration is known as a predictor positively associated with student persistence. Prior research indicates that students experience difficulty adjusting after transferring, which can influence their persistence and success (Laanan, 2001). Responses from 373 community college transfer students indicated that the adjustment to the research site produced several significant relationships between adjustment and the term transferred. Of most interest, mid-year students were less aware of institutional resources to aid in the transition and experienced a more difficult social adjustment, particularly because they did not attend or find campus activities they attended as helpful. To gain further insight additional data were collected from small group interviews and open-ended responses on the survey, which produced 569 statements that were cluster coded (Miles & Huberman, 1994) into 32 clusters of the three primary categories of adjustment (social, academic, and personal).. These data suggested there were distinct differences largely in the social and personal adjustment categories between fall and mid-year transfer students. A cluster that emerged was term of entry, indicating mid-year transfer students did perceive their adjustment as harder than experienced by students who started in the fall. This study contributes to the literature on community college transfer student adjustment and increases awareness about how time of transfer influences that adjustment process.

Download or read book Community College Transfer Students Experiences of the Adjustment Process to a Four Year Institution written by Karen R. Owens and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ABSTRACT: Today's mobile student population follows diverse paths. This research presents findings from a qualitative study investigating the perceptions of transfer students while they were actively engaged in the transfer process. Fifty-seven incoming community college transfer students (n=57) were interviewed, in a large metropolitan area, through e-journaling during fall 2006 (while students were still attending community colleges) and during spring 2007 (students' first semester of admission to the university). The following research questions guided the study: What do transfer students perceive as a successful transfer process? From the transfer student's perspective, what supports are needed to accommodate a successful transfer process? From the transfer student's perspective, what barriers inhibit successful transfer? The study sought to identify transfer student retention policies and practices that offer the most promising outcomes, as substantiated by the transfer students. Their experiences and perceptions might have implications for improving programs and policies at either the sending or receiving institution. The necessity to determine the challenges faced by students when entering a four-year institution is key to understanding student persistence and success in attaining the baccalaureate. The Urban Transfer Research Network (UTRN) is a project funded through Lumina Foundation for Education. The purpose of this collaborative project is to chart the pathways and success of transfer students who begin their college careers at community colleges. The research conducted in this study served as the pilot study for UTRN's qualitative research. The findings suggest three first stage transfer adjustment themes. The first stage includes: students' expectations prior to entering the university, students' initial experiences of marginality, complications from the need for guidance combined with feelings of entitlement, and students learning to navigate the university system. The second stage of the transfer students' adjustment identified the support systems needed by students: personal attention, academic integration, social interaction, and technology. Barriers to successful transfer involved the lack of communication students perceived among and within the community college and the university. The third and final stage of the transfer adjustment process offered student recommendations for change supporting reflections of self-reliance, and balance of academic rigor and personal identity.

Download or read book Transfer Students Trends and Issues written by Frankie Santos Laanan and published by Jossey-Bass. This book was released on 2001-08-20 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The summer 2001 issue of New Directions for Community Colleges evaluates recent research and policy discussions about transfer students and addresses the critical issues facing students moving through the educational pipeline. Chapters include: (1) "Transfer Student Adjustment" (Frankie Santos Laanan); (2) "Institutional Responses to Barriers to the Transfer Process" (Eboni M. Zamani); (3) "Honors Programs: A Case Study of Transfer Preparation" (Herald R. Kane); (4) "Toward a More Perfect Union: Reflecting on Trends and Issues for Enhancing the Academic Performance of Minority Transfer Students" (Wynetta Y. Lee); (5) "Student Transfer Between Oregon Community Colleges and Oregon University System Institutions" (James C. Arnold); (6) "Studying Transfer Students: Designs and Methodological Challenges" (Carol A. Kozeracki); (7) "Transfer Readiness: A Case Study of Former Santa Monica College Students" (Brenda Johnson-Benson, Peter B. Geltner, and Steven K. Steinberg); (8) "Making the Transition to the Senior Institution" (Latrice E. Eggleston and Frankie Santos Laanan); and (9) "Leadership Perspectives on Preparing Transfer Students" (Phoebe K. Helm and Arthur M. Cohen). (EMH)

Download or read book Transfer Students Trends and Issues written by Frankie Santos Laanan and published by Jossey-Bass. This book was released on 2001-08-20 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The summer 2001 issue of New Directions for Community Colleges evaluates recent research and policy discussions about transfer students and addresses the critical issues facing students moving through the educational pipeline. Chapters include: (1) "Transfer Student Adjustment" (Frankie Santos Laanan); (2) "Institutional Responses to Barriers to the Transfer Process" (Eboni M. Zamani); (3) "Honors Programs: A Case Study of Transfer Preparation" (Herald R. Kane); (4) "Toward a More Perfect Union: Reflecting on Trends and Issues for Enhancing the Academic Performance of Minority Transfer Students" (Wynetta Y. Lee); (5) "Student Transfer Between Oregon Community Colleges and Oregon University System Institutions" (James C. Arnold); (6) "Studying Transfer Students: Designs and Methodological Challenges" (Carol A. Kozeracki); (7) "Transfer Readiness: A Case Study of Former Santa Monica College Students" (Brenda Johnson-Benson, Peter B. Geltner, and Steven K. Steinberg); (8) "Making the Transition to the Senior Institution" (Latrice E. Eggleston and Frankie Santos Laanan); and (9) "Leadership Perspectives on Preparing Transfer Students" (Phoebe K. Helm and Arthur M. Cohen). (EMH).

Download or read book Do Community College Transfer Students Perceive that They Matter written by Linda Jean Daniels and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 106 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The growing number of community college transfer students aspiring to attain a baccalaureate degree increases the importance of understanding their perceptions about mattering at 4-year institutions. The degree to which students believe that they matter to others, they are significant to others, and they are appreciated by others (Rosenberg & McCullough, 1981; Schlossberg, 1989; Schlossberg, Lassalle, & Golec, 1989) is paramount to 4-year institutions retaining and graduating these students. A quantitative study was conducted using the Mattering Scales for Adult Students in Higher Education (MHE) to assess the perceptions community college transfer students have about mattering at a private, 4-year liberal arts institution in five postsecondary domains: administration, advising, peers, multiple roles, and faculty. Two research questions were examined in this study: 1. Do community college transfer students perceive that they matter at a private, 4-year liberal arts institution in five postsecondary domains: administration, advising, peers, multiple roles, and faculty? 2. Are there significant differences in the perceptions of community college transfer students based on demographic factors including age, race/ethnicity, education, gender, employment, dependents, number of dependents, hours worked weekly, hours spent on campus weekly, enrollment status, years at the institution, or major area of study? The participants for this study consisted of 23 respondents from a sample of 31 community college transfer students enrolled during the fall 2015 academic semester. Statistical analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics to describe the participants in the study. Inferential analysis was conducted using independent-samples t-tests to assess the differences in the independent variables in the five postsecondary domains and the students’ perceptions about mattering. The findings from this study revealed that community college transfer students have strong perceptions of mattering in the advising and peers postsecondary domains. Differences were statistically significant for gender, race/ethnicity, age, dependents, employment, enrollment status, and education in at least one of the five postsecondary domains. Implications for this research suggest that institutions that focus on mattering and greater student involvement will be successful in creating campuses where students are motivated to learn, where retention is reduced, and where students are loyal to the institution even after graduation.

Download or read book Understanding the Community College Transfer Student Experience from the Student Voice written by Meg Nowak and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The meaning that each transfer student derives from a particular learning experience is unique and each individual's experience is filtered through their personal understandings, beliefs, and values. This purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of how transfer students interpret and talk about their transfer experience. The life of transfer students is generally not accessible through objective instruments and quantitative approaches. Through the use of qualitative methods this research study will assist the profession in gaining an understanding of the transfer student voice and expand the breadth and depth of knowledge about the transfer students' experience in higher education. Twenty-three transfer students at a four-year institution and eight faculty or administrators that work directly with those transfer students were interviewed. A common factor that all students in the study experienced was attendance at a community college before transferring to the university. The themes that developed as students made meaning of their transfer experience are: (1) how their community college experience frames their interpretation of their university experience; (2) individuality and transition within the context of university culture; (3) navigation and negotiation of the university environment. The discussion includes recommendations to future transfer students from the transfer student voice and a description of institutional conditions that help the community college transfer student's chances of succeeding at the four-year institution. This research adds to the limited qualitative research on students' perceptions of their transfer experience, suggesting that the transfer experience is the result of a combination of efforts made by the student, community college, and the university. Transfer students will take responsibility for their education but they are looking for a foundation for their experience through understanding the university culture. Understanding how transfer students make meaning of the transfer experience at the four-year institutions helps to improve our conversations with transfer students and direct efforts to enhance academic integration, validation, and student success.

Download or read book Student Perspectives on Transition from Community College A A S Programs to University written by Jerry Alan Pyka and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The global employment market demands an increasingly well prepared work force. Consequently, this trend is echoed in community college graduates transferring to four- year institutes. From 2009 to 2011, over 28,000 students who graduated with an associate’s degree from a community college in the State of Texas transferred to a four-year university also in the State of Texas (Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, 2013). Among those transferring students, very few community college graduates with an Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree transferred to four-year institutions. A report by the Transfer Issues Advisory Committee (Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, 2001) identified issues that prevent or create obstacles for those A.A.S. students attempting to transfer from a community college to a four- year university: this includes, for example, policy issues, procedures and advisory support. Literature indicates that the issues and challenges confronting A.A.S. transfer students included complicated class transcripts, lack of knowledge pertaining to the process and admissions requirements (Ellison, 2004; Phillips, 2011; Sausner, 2004 Townsend & Wilson, 2006a). Along with these potential difficulties, A.A.S. transferring students must determine if the new receiving university will accept their earned credits, and if those accepted fit into a four-year degree plan (Boswell, 2000; Cejda & Rhodes, 2004). A perceived problem by transfer students is that both institutions need to improve the transfer process (Townsend & Wilson, 2006b). The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of A.A.S. degree students’ challenges and experiences of the transfer period from community college to a four-year research-intensive university. The study participants were 18 transfer students from a large community college in Texas. Participants varied in age, ethnicity, and gender. To understand the challenges of A.A.S. transfer students, a qualitative approach was selected because it allows important insights to emerge from the student perspective. Symbolic interaction was chosen as the framework as it is based on how we interpret our world (Willis, 2007), and it provides for “local understanding” through in-depth interviews to elicit a rich and thick description of the experiences of the participants and how they construct meaning from social interactions. The primary means to obtain data for my research was through the use of surveys and interviews with participants to gain a perspective of their experiences as they transitioned from a two-year college to a four-year university. The primary research question for this study was What are the experiences and perceptions of A.A.S. degreed community college students transferring to an articulated baccalaureate program at a four-year research-intensive institution? The interviews were taped (with the permission of the participant) and an analysis of the qualitative data were completed through the use of coding, reflexive journal and member checking. Transcribed data were coded into themes, organized and categorized. While the experiences of students transferring from one institution of higher education to another have been researched and discussed in previous literature, there has not been any research into the experiences of students with an Associate of Applied Science. The significance of this study is the examination of those experiences through the lens of the student and the presentation of those findings that community college and university administrators may use to refine transfer processes and procedures at their respective institution to make the transfer more seamless.

Download or read book Understanding the Transition Experience of Community College Transfer Students to a 4 year University written by Tony Alan Lazarowicz and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With over 60% of college graduates attending multiple institutions (United States Department of Education, 2006), many starting at community colleges, the importance of understanding community college transfer students' stories is critical to retention and graduation agendas at colleges and universities nationwide. Schlossberg's Transition Theory has recently been introduced into higher education literature as a conceptual framework for working with various student populations such as student veterans (Wheeler, 2012; Rumann, 2010); student athletes (Henderson, 2013); and students on academic probation (Tovar & Simon, 2006) among others. Minimal work has incorporated Schlossberg's Transition Theory into studies of community college transfer students; thus this study was developed to help fill that gap of understanding their transition through that lens. The central question to the study was "how do community college transfer students perceive their transition into a large research, land-grant institution." This phenomenological qualitative study incorporated journaling and interviews with 12 full-time community college transfer students (21-41 years old) at three points during their first semester (fall 2014) at a large Midwestern research institution. Using open, axial, and selective coding, the following five themes emerged: funding the college experience; transition takes time; support is critical; maturity; and personal responsibility. These participants transition experience, as indicated by the emergent themes, fit well within the context of Schlossberg's Transition Theory. Overall, these participants' transition meant an opportunity to move forward, start a new chapter, and expand one's opportunities. Consistent with other studies that have used Schlossberg's Transition Theory, there is value in considering this theoretical framework when working with community college transfer students. When universities create policies and procedures that are geared toward increasing student's assets in Schlossberg's 4-S coping resources and are mindful of the full transition (moving in, moving through, and moving out), administrators, staff, and policy makers can assist in the transition for community college transfer students and provide support to a growing portion of the student population in higher education.

Download or read book Community College Transfer Student Involvement Experiences at a Selective Private Four year University written by Carolina Castillo and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This dissertation tested the constructs of academic and social involvement and adjustment on grades as a pathway to explain community college transfer student experiences beyond the concept of transfer shock. The study contributes to the growing body of literature on Latina(o) community college transfer student experiences with the application of conventional theories of student involvement at a traditional, highly diverse institution. The presence of transfer shock was examined as well as the degree to which the community college transfer student involvement model helped to explain student persistence, as defined by GPA. It was hypothesized that Latina(o) student involvement in social and academic activities would positively contribute to persistence. Factorial analysis of variance was used to test the relationship between two key variables: social and academic involvement and four independent variables: race/ethnicity, age, major, and gender. The analyses focused on seven research questions that examined the relationship between these variables and were conducted with two groups: the total sample of 517 students and a sub-sample of 75 Latina(o) students. The results of the study confirmed that the community college transfer student involvement pathway worked for the large sample. However, the pathway was not a good fit for explaining Latina(o) student involvement experiences. The student engagement construct is reviewed as a better fit for studying underrepresented transfer students' higher education experiences. Limitations of the study are discussed including implications for practice and recommendations for future research.

Download or read book Timing Is Everything written by Scott F. Peska and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 35 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This sequential mixed method study (Creswell, 2003) compared the adjustment process of community college transfer students who began in the fall to those who began mid-year, beginning with a quantitative phase and extending to a qualitative phase of data collection in the fall semester and repeating this same sequence of data gathering with transfer students enrolling in the spring term. The central question guiding the quantitative phase was whether there are differences in the adjustment of fall and mid-year community college transfer students in the semester they first transfer to a public, four-year institution. The second phase explored the community college transfer students' adjustment experiences during the fall and mid-year through the use of small group interviews. The central question guiding the qualitative inquiry was how mid-year community college transfer student adjustment differs from fall transfer student adjustment, focusing this qualitative inquiry on the mid-year transfer students and comparing and interpreting their results to those of fall transfer students. In summary, this study supports this author's contention that community college students who transfer mid-year have different experiences with college adjustment than their fall counterparts. Results of this study begin to provide a useful picture of mid-year transfer students, but more research is needed. Investigations of programs and services that two-year and four-year institutions can offer to help mid-year transfer students adjust to college, persist in college, and earn a baccalaureate degree are needed. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.) [For the full report, "Timing Is Everything: A Comparative Study of the Adjustment Process of Fall and Mid-Year Community College Transfer Students at a Public Four-Year University," see ED527131.].

Download or read book A Study of the Perceptions and Performance of Native and Community College Transfer Students at a Rural Land grant Institution written by Kimberly Reed-Nolan and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions and performance of native and community college transfer students at a rural land grant institution. The study included students' perceptions of the following areas: (1) academic and intellectual development; (2) faculty concern of student development and teaching; (3) social integration; (4) goal and institutional commitment; and (5) transfer students' perceptions of their transfer process. The theoretical framework of the study was Tinto's Longitudinal Model of Student Departure. A survey research design was employed in this investigative study to collect and analyze the data. A total of 567 Mississippi State University (MSU) students participated in the research study. An instrument entitled The Student Experience Survey was used to gather the data utilized in the research study. The researcher sought to answer 6 research questions related to participants' perceptions and performance at MSU. To analyze the collected data both a Multivariate of Variance (MANOVA) and an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) tests were used. Other statistical tests that were utilized in this research study were cross tabulations, descriptive frequencies, and Chi-Square. All results were presented in both descriptive and table forms. Among the major findings of the research study were: (a) there was a significant difference in the grade point averages (GPAs) of university native and community college transfer students, (b) there was a significant relationship between the collegiate GPAs of community college transfer students and their perceptions of specific transfer variables; and (c) there were significant differences in the students' perceptions of the factor variables of academic and intellectual development, faculty concern for student development, social integration, and goal and institutional commitment among university native and community college transfer students.

Download or read book Examining Student Perceptions of the New Transfer Process SB 1440 written by Raquel G. Quirarte and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The original California Master Plan of Higher Education came into effect after the signing of Senate Bill 33, also known as the Donahue Act (California Department of Education, 1960). The Master Plan faced drastic demographic changes, growth in enrollment, and severe budget cuts between 1980 and 2010. During these difficult times the state legislation made an additional attempt to help alleviate some of the strain by creating a new bill--SB 1440: Student Achievement Reform Act--which came into effect to help students transfer from a CCC to the GSU system and have a more seamless transfer pathway. In an effort to gain further insight, the researcher used Astin's theory of student involvement and Bolman and Deal's model of organizational structure. The purpose of this study was to examine student perceptions of the new transfer process, SB 1440: Student Transfer Achievement Reform (STAR) Act, between the Community College and Grand State University. The following questions were constructed based on the related literature: 1. What challenges or benefits did SB 1440: Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act, students encounter at Grand State? 2. What perceptions did the SB 1440: Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act students have regarding the transfer process from the community college to Grand State? 3. What recommendations did SB 1440: Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act students have for Grand State University to facilitate the transfer process? The study researched the perceptions of STAR students from the local Community Colleges to Grand State University. The study sought to provide administrators, faculty, and student services professionals with insight into the STAR students' perceptions of the new transfer pathway as well as any challenges and benefits they encountered during their transfer process. Furthermore, the study sought to provide recommendations to administrators, faculty, and student services professionals on possible improvements to services to facilitate the transfer process for future STAR students. This study utilized a mixed methods research approach. The study consisted of 61 STAR students who had transferred to Grand State University. Forty-one point one percent (41.1%) followed the SB 1440 transfer pathway for timely completion of degree, obtaining an associate degree, and being admitted to Grand State. Fifty-five point six percent (55.6%) were admitted into impacted programs. Furthermore, 57.1% had a positive transfer experience. The research provided insight on challenges STAR students experienced during their transfer process. Lack of communication from the two-year and four-year institutions created frustration for students seeking information regarding the new transfer pathway. The benefits highlighted were admission to their four-year school of choice and admission into impacted programs. The study revealed the importance of a more structured transfer pathway and is highly recommended in order for future SB 1440 students to persist toward the completion of their bachelor's degree in a timely manner.

Download or read book Students Seeking Access to Four year Institutions written by California. Legislature. Senate. Select Committee on Higher Education Admissions and Outreach and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Discredited written by Lauren Schudde and published by . This book was released on 2024-09-03 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An incisive investigation of the often fraught student-transfer pathways from community colleges to four-year institutions--and a blueprint for process reform In Discredited, education scholars Lauren Schudde and Huriya Jabbar illuminate the successes and failures of the systems that support student transfer among postsecondary institutions. Summarizing the key challenges of various transfer pathways, Schudde and Jabbar show how the current decentralized, bureaucracy-ridden, and often confusing process undermines equity and access in higher education. They illustrate how transfer success is closely tied to how educational institutions disseminate information about credit portability, especially for vertical transfer between community colleges and destination universities, in which prospective transfer students often confront hidden curricula and unfounded biases about their academic preparedness. This deeply considered work is grounded in hundreds of interviews of students and personnel, data from a six-year longitudinal study in Texas, and a synthesis of five decades of research on college transfer. Presenting a field perspective, Schudde and Jabbar use strategic action fields, a framework that considers how rules and norms are maintained in an existing power structure, to examine the political-ecological contexts in which transfer-intending students and transfer-related college personnel interact within and across organizations. They frame transfer policy as a complex public higher education issue rather than an isolated community college problem. Schudde and Jabbar call for transfer reform and offer insight into how transfer outcomes could be improved through better transparency, centralized policy, and even government intervention.

Download or read book The Process of Transition for Community College Transfer Students written by Catherine Therese Flaga and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Transfer Students in STEM Majors written by Dimitra Lynette Jackson and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purposes of this study were (a) to examine the socialization factors of community college transfer students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM); (b) to examine the socialization factors that impact the academic and social adjustment of community college transfer students in STEM majors; and (c) to understand how female community college transfer students describe their overall socialization experiences in STEM majors. A survey was used to collect data concerning the background characteristics as well as the community college and university experiences of transfer students. A purposive sample of female community college transfer students were interviewed to gather information about their overall socialization experiences. The researcher employed a hypothetical conceptual framework of undergraduate socialization for community college transfer students based on Weidman's (1987) conceptual framework of undergraduate socialization. The hypothesized model was used to examine how selected variables--background characteristics, community college experiences, and university experiences--impacted the academic and social adjustment among community college transfer students. Quantitative analysis, including descriptive statistics, independent samples t test, and hierarchical multiple regression, as well as qualitative analysis, including narrative inquiry, were used to analyze the data. Two hierarchical multiple regression models were used to examine the background characteristics and the community college and university variables that predict academic and social adjustment. The results of this study suggest that the background characteristics, including gender; community college experiences, including transfer semester hours, experience with faculty and transfer process; as well as university experiences that include negative general perception of transfer students, impacted the academic adjustment of community college transfer students. Similarly, a second hierarchical multiple regression model was used to examine the background characteristics and community and university variables that predict social adjustment. The results of this study suggest that the background characteristics parental household income level; community college experiences: academic advising, course learning; and university experiences: financial influential reasons for attending ISU and negative general perception of transfer students impacted the social adjustment of community college transfer students in STEM. Additionally, qualitative data, which focused on five female community college transfer students, highlight the role of parents, faculty, community colleges, and universities in the academic and social adjustment of community college transfer students in STEM majors. The study should be replicated in other research universities with a large transfer student population. In addition, it is imperative that policymakers and community college and university faculty and staff understand the socialization of transfer students to ensure the institutional environments are conducive to successful transfer and adjustment.