BOOSTing Transfer Partnerships to Promote Equitable and Affordable Transfer Pathways - April 2023

Oct 15, 2026

Clear supports and affordable, equitable pathways are essential to help students complete a degree across multiple institutions. TransferBOOST, launched in 2021 by IHEP and HCM Strategists, worked with partners across Arizona, Illinois, and Virginia to address transfer barriers affecting Black, Latinx/Hispanic, Indigenous, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander students, low-income students, and women. The initiative emphasizes communicating mapped pathways, ensuring credit applicability, clarifying costs, and streamlining time to degree.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages41

Reading Time1 h 43 min

AccessFree to download

TransferBOOST State and Institutional Partners

Qualities to Look for in State Leads

State Leads

Community College and Four-Year Institution Implementation Teams

Lessons Learned from Establishing Community College and Four-Year Institution Implementation Teams

Advisory Committee

Reflect on a Set of Framing Questions

Understand the Relevant Policy Areas

Examine Institution-Level Data to Illuminate Inequities in Access, Retention, and Completion Rates

Examine Transfer Rates to Illuminate Inequities

Select the Transfer Pathway(s) Based on the Data

Goals and Metrics Checklist

Begin with the Future in Mind to Promote Robust and Sustainable Partnerships

Acknowledgements

Appendix A: State and Institution Policy Checklists

Appendix B: Data Collection Guidance for Transfer Partnerships

Endnotes

BOOSTing Transfer Partnerships to Promote Equitable and Affordable Transfer Pathways An initiative by: Katelyn DiBenedetto and Amanda Janice Roberson, IHEP Jessica Collis and Rachelle Sharpe, HCM Strategists Lara Couturier and Cristen Moore, Consultants for HCM Strategists April 2023 Table of Contents Table of Contents ................................................................................................................2 TransferBOOST State and Institutional Partners ..............................................................3 TransferBOOST State and Institutional Partners ..............................................................4 Qualities to Look for in State Leads ..................................................................................7 State Leads ...................................................................................................................... 7 Community College and Four-Year Institution Implementation Teams ............................7 Lessons Learned from Establishing Community College and Four-Year Institution Implementation Teams ....................................................................................................8 Advisory Committee .........................................................................................................9 Reflect on a Set of Framing Questions ............................................................................ 11 Understand the Relevant Policy Areas ............................................................................. 11 Examine Institution-Level Data to Illuminate Inequities in Access, Retention, and Completion Rates ........................................................................................................... 13 Examine Transfer Rates to Illuminate Inequities ............................................................ 14 Select the Transfer Pathway(s ) Based on the Data ......................................................... 14 Goals and Metrics Checklist ............................................................................................ 16 Begin with the Future in Mind to Promote Robust and Sustainable Partnerships ........... 16 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... 18 Appendix A: State and Institution Policy Checklists ......................................................... 19 Appendix B: Data Collection Guidance for Transfer Partnerships ....................................37 Early Impact Indicators Related to Student Behaviors, Experiences, and Outcomes .....37 Institutional Indicators Related to Communication Strategies .......................................38 State Indicators Related to Communication Strategies ................................................ 40 Endnotes ........................................................................................................................... 41 Clear supports and equitable and affordable pathways to complete a degree across multiple institutions have never been more urgent. Ongoing health and economic crises continue to disproportionately impact Black, Latinx and/or Hispanic, Indigenous, and Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) students, students from low-income backgrounds, and women1—many of whom are more likely to start their postsecondary education at a community college,2 and who also still face barriers that not only impede their successful transfer between two-year and four-year institutions but also their completion of a bachelor’s degree.3 TransferBOOST (Bachelor’s Opportunity Options that are Straightforward and Transparent), a pilot initiative the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) and HCM Strategists (HCM), launched in 2021, involved partnerships across three states at 24 institutions to address transfer challenges. Participatin

FAQs

What problem does TransferBOOST aim to address?

TransferBOOST targets barriers that impede equitable transfer from two-year to four-year institutions and reduce bachelor’s completion for students from historically impacted groups.

Who launched TransferBOOST and when?

TransferBOOST was launched in 2021 by the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) and HCM Strategists (HCM).

How were states selected to pilot the initiative?

Arizona, Illinois, and Virginia were selected based on diverse student enrollment, state-level policy readiness, regional/local readiness, and institutional commitment to improving support for adults from low-income backgrounds and students of color.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Sophia Brooks