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The brief reviews statewide efforts—including transfer agreements and the 2021 Transfer with Success Act—then analyzes credit loss. Using “excess credits” earned at community colleges that do not count toward bachelor’s requirements, it estimates how lost credits delay progress through additional semesters and credits. It explains credit loss measurement challenges and defines key terms to support tracking progress.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/uncounted-credits-how-transfer-students-lose-momentum-toward-a-bachelors-degree-in-maryland-policy-brief-january-2026/585245/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/uncounted-credits-how-transfer-students-lose-momentum-toward-a-bachelors-degree-in-maryland-policy-brief-january-2026/585245.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Aria Callaghan","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":44},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What does the brief mean by “credit loss” for transfer students?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Credit loss occurs when community college credits either do not transfer (denials) or are not applied toward a student’s four-year degree program.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Why is credit loss difficult to measure in Maryland?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Maryland currently does not collect data on which credits “count,” making direct measurement of credit loss challenging.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How does the report estimate credit loss?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The report uses “excess credits,” meaning extra community college credits earned that do not end up counting toward a bachelor’s degree for transfer students who earn degrees.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},585245,1792165071,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":44,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":52,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144,"preview_page_count":4},962084926284,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_29158cc5080c5b710cf443261637dec0","Maryland Higher Education Commission Policy Brief  \nOffice of Research and Policy Analysis  \nWes Moore Governor  \nAruna Miller Lt. Governor  \nSanjay Rai, Ph. D. Secretary  \nUncounted Credits: How Transfer Students Lose Momentum Toward a Bachelor’s Degree in Maryland  \nYuxin Lin, Ph. D.  \nAssociate Director, Research and Policy Analysis, Maryland Higher Education Commission  \nStacey Brockman, Ph. D.  \nAssistant Professor, Educational Leadership and Policies Studies, Wayne State University  \nSuggested Citation: Lin, Y.& Brockman, S. (2026) . Uncounted Credits: How Transfer Students Lose Momentum Toward a Bachelor’s Degree in Maryland. Baltimore, MD: Maryland Higher Education Commission.  \nThe author thanks Dr. Barbara Schmertz for her detailed feedback and comments on earlier drafts. Seminar participants at the AEFP 2025 annual conferences gave valuable suggestions as well. If you have questions regarding this publication, please contact [rpa.mhec@maryland.gov](rpa.mhec@maryland.gov)  \nClick Here for the Executive Summary  \nor enter: [https://mhec.maryland.gov/publications/Documents/Research/PolicyReports/MHECPolicyBriefVol6Summary.pdf](https://mhec.maryland.gov/publications/Documents/Research/PolicyReports/MHECPolicyBriefVol6Summary.pdf)  \nJanuary 2026  \n217 E. Redwood Street, Suite 2100, Baltimore, Maryland 21202  \nUncounted Credits: How Transfer Students Lose Momentum toward a Bachelor’s Degree  \nin Maryland  \nYuxin Lin 1 and Stacey Brockman2  \nTransfer student success is a policy priority in Maryland. While “transfer” is a broad term that includes any students who move across postsecondary institutions, “vertical transfer students,” those moving from community colleges to four-year colleges and universities, are most common.  \nSeveral Maryland policies aim to improve transfer student success. The College and Career Readiness and College Completion Act of 2013 (CCRCCA) directed the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC), in partnership with public colleges and universities, to develop statewide transfer agreements aimed at maximizing credit transferability. Building on that effort, Maryland’s 2021 Transfer with Success Act requires colleges and universities to work together to review any denied transfer creditsand report them to MHEC each year. Among the first regulatory updates to be implemented in 2022, MHEC increased its oversight over program-specific articulation agreements. MHEC also issued the Transfer Guidance for public institutions to implement and revise their own transfer policies and procedures to comply with the new transfer regulations. Despite these efforts, transfer students continue to face challenges in completing baccalaureate degrees on-time.  \nMaryland has one of the highest vertical transfer rates in the nation, yet only about 50% of transfer students in the state earn a Bachelor’s degree within six years of their community college entry [1] . Earning a Bachelor’s degree also takes Maryland transfer students longer—about 3 more semesters and 19 extra credits—compared to non-transfer students who start directly at four-year institutions.3 Given that nearly a quarter (23%) of all students at Maryland four-year institutions initially enrolled at community colleges, supporting transfer progress and success is a key step towards meeting the state’s degree attainment goals [1] .”  \nAn obstacle transfer students face is that when they transfer, sometimes their community college credits may not transfer with them. Research defines credit loss as when community college credits either do not transfer (denials) or are not applied towards students’ four-year degree programs [2, 3] . Losing credits during transfer can slow down students’ progress resulting in lost time, resources, and effort for students and institutions, as students retake courses and delay their time to degree [4, 5] .  \nA first step in addressing credit loss is understanding the size of the problem. However, credit loss is hard to measure in","cbCaikMNnVtQFELi","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaikMNnVtQFELi","pdf",2303533,"English","# Executive Summary\n# Policy Context and Transfer Requirements\n## Federal and State Policy Drivers (CCRCCA, 2021 Transfer with Success Act)\n# Challenges in Bachelor’s Completion for Transfer Students\n## Vertical Transfer Rates and Time-to-Degree\n# Defining and Measuring Credit Loss\n## Credit Loss and Its Impacts\n## Why Maryland Data Limits Measurement\n# Excess Credits as a Benchmark\n## Scope and Measurement Limitations\n# Key Terms in the Report","[{\"question\":\"What does the brief mean by “credit loss” for transfer students?\",\"answer\":\"Credit loss occurs when community college credits either do not transfer (denials) or are not applied toward a student’s four-year degree program.\"},{\"question\":\"Why is credit loss difficult to measure in Maryland?\",\"answer\":\"Maryland currently does not collect data on which credits “count,” making direct measurement of credit loss challenging.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the report estimate credit loss?\",\"answer\":\"The report uses “excess credits,” meaning extra community college credits earned that do not end up counting toward a bachelor’s degree for transfer students who earn degrees.\"}]","Uncounted Credits: How Transfer Students Lose Momentum toward a Bachelor’s Degree in Maryland - Policy Brief - January 2026 | PDF",1792054151,25]