Overcoming Shock: An Examination of Transfer Shock and Student Resiliency

• Main Author: Hennessey, Noel
• Other Authors: Deil-Amen, Regina
• Language: en_US
• Published: The University of Arizona. 2015
• Subjects: resiliency; risk; shock; student; transfer; Higher Education; protective
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10150/560635

This project examines the systemic causes of transfer shock, the phenomenon wherein students transitioning onto a university campus from a community college experience a drop in their grade point average (GPA) in their first semester of transfer. Previous research has focused on student characteristics that are predictive of transfer shock, but few researchers have approached this topic from the perspective of the students themselves. This study seeks to understand how transfer students experience the initial transition onto the four-year university campus and the interactions with managerial professionals, and how those interactions impact the likelihood of students experiencing transfer shock or not. I used the work of Tinto (1975) and Deil-Amen (2011), as well as interviews with 15 transfer students, to theorize that students' procedural interactions are significant for their socio-academic integration. This study demonstrates the process of socio-academic integration and highlights the ways that the institution can support or impede student academic performance and success.