I hear this question a lot from parents who are stressed about the high cost  of a bachelor’s degree. They naturally wonder if starting at a cheaper community college and then transferring is a smart move.

The transfer student question is also relevant for teenagers who begin at four-year universities and then end up transferring to other colleges. About one in five students who start at a university end up transferring someplace else.

A new study from the National Survey of Student Engagement suggests that transfer students from community colleges don’t fare as well when they transfer. These transfer students are less likely to participate in such important campus activities as internships, studying abroad, doing research with a professor and taking part in a senior seminar.

Transfer students who came from other four-year institution became more involved than the community college transfers, but they too lagged behind the students who began at the institutions. Alexander C. McCormick, the director of the NSSE survey, suggested that many students transferring from other four-year schools were probably not doing well at their initial institutions.

Despite the survey results, some students attend community colleges.  On its site, the College Board has posted six reasons why high school students might want to start at a community college.

The big challenge that transfer students face is having their credits transfer. Here is a cheat sheet that should help boost your chances of keeping those credits.

Further Reading:

Transferring to a Different School

Getting a Community College Scholarship

Leaving Free Cash on the Table

The conference, which was sponsored by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, brought together heavy-hitter speakers, who had worked for decades to improve the teaching profession.

Here’s what struck me about the conference:  The speakers were BORING. I think my nail clipper possesses more spunk than some of these guys.  And this, of course, left me incredulous. Are these experts really the ones the higher ed world is depending on to improve the quality of teaching? Yikes.

I did walk away from the conference with a handout that shared some stunning statistics. The college professor who enjoys  tenure (and can apparently get away with boring lectures) is disappearing.

Here are the stats:

• The tenured college professor represents less than one-third of today’s faculty.
• Over the next decade, 40% to 60% of college professors will retire.
• Among full-time faculty, 32% of teachers are not on the tenure track.
• More than 50% of new full-time hires are not on the tenure track.
• About 80% of part-time and  67% of full-time non-tenure track professors don’t hold doctorates.

Why should you care?

Studies have shown that freshmen are more likely to drop out of school if part-time professors are teaching their intro classes. Part-timers trying to make a living must run from campus to campus to pay the bills, which means office hours are rare or non existent to help struggling kids.

Research also suggests that teachers, including those with tenure, are less likely to put as much effort into teaching when there are many part-timers on campus.

Want to avoid mediocre teachers? You’ve got a better change if you learn how to evaluate schools — right down to academic departments — by reading The College Solution.

Further Reading:

Why College Professors Are Failing Students

Getting the Most Out of a College Tour