January 28, 2025

Unlocking STEM Potential: How Partnerships are Bridging the Transfer Gap

Imagine a future where talented science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students from low-income backgrounds have a clear and supported pathway from their community college to a 4-year university to complete their bachelor’s degree in their chosen major. This vision is becoming a reality thanks to innovative partnerships between 2-year and 4-year institutions.

The STEM Transfer Partnership began with nine teams composed of 2-year and 4-year institutional partners. These teams have been working collaboratively to increase access to and bachelor’s degree completion for STEM transfer students from low-income backgrounds. These partnerships were formed towards the end of the COVID pandemic, as institutions were readjusting to a new normal and returning to campus with fewer students and, thus, fewer resources. During this challenging time, faculty, staff and administrators faced many demands on their time and attention. We are grateful these teams chose to focus on improving their transfer students’ experiences by growing their partnerships, building relationships, and creating solutions.

Data Note 5 from the STEM Transfer Partnerships (STP) initiative unveils the power of collaboration by sharing case studies of nine dedicated teams. The teams who collectively comprise the STP community of practice are composed of faculty, staff, and administrators working together to break down the barriers that often hinder the transfer and completion rates of STEM students from low-income backgrounds.

Discover how these partnerships are:

• Improving advising: Streamlining guidance, fostering personalized support, and creating clear pathways to success.
• Enhancing recruitment and enrollment: Inspiring student interest, increasing access to opportunities, and simplifying the transfer process.
• Strengthening faculty and curriculum: Improving gateway course outcomes, promoting research experiences, and providing courses to be major ready to transfer.

This Data Note showcases examples from this community of practice’s partnerships. Some of the exciting things you will see in these case studies are the myriad ways teams changed practices and processes to improve transfer student experiences. All teams utilized student input in their change process. 

Key takeaways from across these case studies highlight the importance to:

• • Build relationships
  • Center transfer student input in the process
  • Use data to monitor and improve outcomes
  • Tie efforts to other institutional resources with similar goals
  • Get leadership involved 

This publication, co-created with our team leads, provides valuable insights for educators, administrators, and policymakers seeking to improve STEM transfer rates and empower the next generation of scientists and innovators.

Read the full brief to learn more about the strategies and successes of these impactful partnerships.