Beyond Transfer Rates: A Guidebook For Understanding Student Pathways & Progress

Transfer data can tell institutions more than who leaves or arrives. They can help practitioners uncover patterns and provide insight into how institutional policies, practices, and supports may shape student progression across increasingly complex educational pathways.

This toolkit supports higher education practitioners working to strengthen student progression and institutional practice. Because transfer touches enrollment management, advising, academic affairs, student success, and other functional areas, this toolkit is intended to foster collaborative inquiry across institutional roles. The toolkit includes guiding questions and information on evidence-informed practices that will be broadly applicable to institutions seeking to strengthen transfer pathways and improve student success.

This Toolkit Helps Institutions:

• Identify transfer trends and patterns using multiple sources of evidence.
• Interpret what transfer patterns reveal about students’ educational pathways and institutional practice.
• Engage cross-functional partners in collaborative inquiry.
• Apply evidence-informed strategies to strengthen transfer pathways and student progression.
• Advance continuous institutional improvement centered on student success

Learn more: https://sdp.cepr.harvard.edu/sdp-cte-diagnostic-toolkit