Beyond Transfer Shock: Dimensions of Transfer Students' Adjustment.

This study examined the adjustment process of 727 students who transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in fall 1994 or fall 1995. The Transfer Students' Questionnaire (TSQ) was organized into three main sections: social demographics, perceptions of the community college experience, and perception of the UCLA experience. The methodology compares the responses of the students who had participated in honors programs at their community colleges (TAP students) with those students who had not participated in one of these programs (non-TAP students). The study found that TAP students tend to be white, younger, come from families with higher parental education attainment and income levels, and have higher degree aspirations than their non-TAP counterparts. At the community college, TAP students had higher GPAs and were more likely to spend their free time engaging in extracurricular activities, while non-TAP students were more likely to spend their free time reading for pleasure or doing independent research. Also at the community college, TAP students were more likely to consult with academic counselors on a regular basis. At the university, TAP students continued to have higher GPAs than non-TAP students. Both groups expressed similar levels of satisfaction with UCLA and showed similar levels of involvement at the university. No statistically significant differences were found between the two groups in terms of psychological, academic, or social adjustment. (Contains 60 references.) (CAK) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Beyond Transfer Shock: Dimensions of Transfer Students' Adjustment Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association New Orleans, Louisiana April 24, 2000 Contact Information: Frankie Santos Laanan Assistant Professor, Community College Leadership Department of Human Resource Education University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 345 Education Building, MC-708 1310 South Sixth Street Champaign, IL 61820 Phone: (217) 333-0807 e-mail: laanan@uiuc.edu U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position cr policy. BEST COPY AVAILABLE 2 PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY