Traditional Transfer Students
| The changing nature of the BC post-secondary system has also resulted in changing patterns of enrolment of traditional transfer students. Figure 1 shows that 4,100 students moved from a college or institute (2,700) or a TIU (1,400) to an RIU with transfer as the basis of admission between academic year 2007-08 and 2008-09. When adding in other transfer students from previous years, that number jumps to over 4,900. The total number of transfer students to RIU’s in 2009-10 was about 4,700. | The changing nature of the post-secondary system has also resulted in changing patterns of enrolment of traditional transfer students. |
Figure 2 shows the trends in traditional transfer student numbers over the last several years and predicts a further decline in numbers in 2011-12, all else remaining equal.
Figure 2: Trends and projections –Traditional transfer students entering research universities
Source: Student Transitions Project.
Thus, although the new STP mobility model predicts that the number of overall movers among post-secondary institutions will rise in the next year, it also predicts that the number of traditional transfer students to RIU's will drop, continuing a trend since 2007-08. The STP newsletter includes a list of possible reasons for this declining trend. These include:
- changing institutional designations,
- expanded degree completion opportunities,
- more students choosing to transfer to a TIU,
- overall increased demand for entrance to RIU's resulting in higher entrance requirements, and
- changing admission quotas at RIU's resulting in a larger intake of direct-entry students from high school.
BCCAT and the STP will continue to monitor closely the trend line for traditional transfer students in the years ahead and report on findings.
