| An exploratory study of reverse transfer was conducted to understand the reasons and factors that influence Illinois State University (ISU) students to transfer to Heartland Community College (HCC) and later return to the University in pursuit of the baccalaureate degree. Enrollment records at Illinois State University were used to identify students who started their post-secondary careers at Illinois State University with no previous college experience, left ISU before earning the bachelor's degree and were readmitted and enrolled at ISU after having attended Heartland Community College. Fifteen in depth interviews were conducted and analyzed using qualitative research.;From an analysis of the interviews, the author concluded: (1) The path to the baccalaureate for ISU reverse transfer students was long and complex. The process began at the time students chose to attend college, in this case ISU, and ended after attending HCC and returning to ISU in pursuit of the baccalaureate degree. (2) Poor academic performance caused by a lack of academic focus, large lecture hall classes, poor faculty interaction, being unprepared for college, a strong social life, and limited use of student services caused students to leave ISU and transfer to HCC. Other students left ISU to avoid academic dismissal and take advantage of the HCC low tuition costs and course offerings. (3) A combination of individual, institutional, and external factors at HCC (i.e., academic focus, maturity, second chance to increase GPA, small classes, strong faculty interaction, weak social life, use of student support services, and learning to balance external pressures) helped reverse transfers to return to the University in pursuit of the baccalaureate. (4) Upon returning to the University, students made school a priority, used campus resources including faculty office hours, learned to better balance their academic and social life, and were more disciplined. As a result, at the time of this writing, of the 15 students, 8 were still enrolled, 5 had earned a baccalaureate degree from ISU, 1 was academically dismissed, and 1 was not enrolled at either ISU or HCC. Student personal accounts of their institutional experiences at ISU and HCC demonstrate that the baccalaureate path is quite a complicated process. A combination of individual, institutional, and external factors influences the reverse transfer movement. |
