READ THE REPORT HERE
Since 2019, UNITE-LA has worked with L.A. area community college and CSU campuses to learn about what barriers exist that hinder students’ abilities to transfer from one institution to another. In partnership with numerous philanthropic organizations, UNITE-LA has collected and analyzed data from 20 regional institutions; brought campuses together to explore data, policies, and relationships; and ideated solutions to problems identified in the process.
Building on this, with the support of the College Futures Foundation and through the infrastructure built by the L.A. Region K-16 Collaborative, between 2022 and 2024, UNITE-LA developed and piloted a student-centered transfer redesign process. This collective impact initiative brought together CSUs and feeder community colleges to discuss campus-specific data, hear from students, and model changes that could be implemented on campuses to positively impact the transfer experience.
Anchored by California State University, Dominguez Hills and California Polytechnic University, Pomona, respectively, individuals from across campuses included those that touch the transfer pipeline from faculty, admissions and enrollment, academic affairs, and student services. Collectively, these participants used data and student testimony to identify problems, discovered root causes, and ideated and piloted solutions to support student success.
Our new report on the student-centered transfer redesign process details what it took for campus partners to come together, critically assess their own policies and practices, and work together to make sustainable changes that have transformed their approach to the transfer system.
For questions, please reach out to UNITE-LA staff: Adam Gottlieb, Director of Postsecondary Strategy & Policy at agottlieb@unitela.com.