(581d) Understanding the Transfer Journey in Chemical Engineering: Evidence-Based Strategies to Support Student Persistence

There is a need to recruit and retain talented students to complete engineering bachelor's degrees in the U.S. To meet this goal, the development of various degree pathways, such as the community college transfer pathway (also known as the vertical transfer pathway), is crucial. In our previous work, we analyzed 20 years of data on students from all engineering majors (Lubbe et al., 2024), but it is necessary to explore discipline-specific trends. Given the rigorous coursework and sequential nature of the chemical engineering curriculum, understanding transfer student outcomes in this discipline is critical to informing targeted support strategies.

In this explanatory mixed-methods study, we analyze trends among 438 chemical engineering students transferring from Florida State Colleges to Sunshine University (SU), a large, public, selective R1 university in Florida. We employ descriptive statistics to examine a 20-year dataset and explore relationships between various student variables, including demographics, their starting college, GPA, persistence, and degree completion. Additionally, we utilized Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA) to analyze three semi-structured interviews with vertical transfer students from chemical engineering students at SU. The interviews focused on the students’ adjustment experiences at SU and their coping mechanisms when confronted with post-transfer challenges. Greater emphasis is placed on the qualitative analysis during the integration phase to provide deeper context to the trends observed in the dataset.

Among the chemical engineering transfer students from 2002 to 2023, the percentage of women (32%) and international students (22%) was higher than the percentage of women (17%) and international students (18%) in the overall engineering transfer student population (Lubbe et al., 2024). Additionally, we found that 63% of chemical engineering transfer students either earned a failing grade or withdrew from a course while enrolled at SU. In our interviews with chemical engineering transfer students, participants discussed strategies for overcoming academic challenges and how their adjustment at SU improved over time. This integrated quantitative and qualitative analysis provides insight into overall trends among chemical engineering transfer students, with interview data offering explanatory depth to institutional patterns. By integrating student narratives with institutional trends, the study highlights how individual resilience and access to support systems interact to influence persistence and academic recovery after setbacks. Findings from this study can inform targeted advising practices, academic support services, and transfer-specific programming aimed at improving persistence and adjustment for chemical engineering transfer students across the U.S.