Part 1: Through the Lens of Records and Registration

"What If Everything We 'Know' Is Backward? The research analyzed over 13,000 graduates and found something that should fundamentally change how we think about transfer credit evaluation: 98.5 percent of transfer credits are successfully transferred (the authors use the term "articulated"). More importantly, transfer and nontransfer students accumulate extra credits at nearly identical rates. If transfer credit loss were the primary driver of excess credits, we'd expect to see significant differences between these populations. We don't."

"The Assumption We All Make Every transfer credit evaluator has processed that file-the one with 75 community college credits from multiple institutions, a major change and the inevitable outcome of 30-plus extra credits at graduation. The standard explanation? Transfer credit loss. Credits that don't transfer or don't apply to the new major. It's logical. It's widely accepted. According to new research from the University of New Mexico, it's largely incorrect."

Analysis of over 13,000 University of New Mexico graduates shows 98.5 percent of transfer credits are articulated. Transfer and nontransfer students accumulate extra credits at nearly identical rates, indicating transfer-credit loss is not the primary driver of excess credits. Most transfer credits successfully transfer; excess credits commonly arise because students earn courses that count toward the degree but exceed program requirements. Extra credits are classified into categories including unusable-earned credits—passing courses that do not apply to the degree—and other types that reflect course selection, program changes, or institutional policies. Findings call for attention to advising, degree audit practices, and curricular alignment.

Read at Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs