Operationalizing Academic Integration for Post-Transfer Students: Discussing Quantitative Factors

Research discussing the historic Tinto's Model of Retention has pushed "integration" as a key component to students' will to stay in or leave higher education. Though previous research has attempted to define factors that comprise "integration" for many student populations, it has been difficult to assess or come to an agreement upon what these factors may be for transfer students. Generally, transfer students encounter "integration" through the financial, academic, and social implications of becoming a student at their new four-year institution. This dialogue intends to identify aspects of academic integration that have been analyzed in existing educational retention models to then ask ourselves if they are appropriate for a transfer student population. Through this lens, we will discuss possible variables used to describe academic integration for post-transfer students, in which we consider the factors that may be found in registrar data and used in quantitative modeling to predict student retention.