College transfer

College transfer is the anticipated movement students consider between education providers and the related institutional processes supporting those secondary and post-secondary learners who actually do move with completed coursework or training that may be applicable to a degree pathway and published requirements. Student movements between different education providers spanning secondary and post-secondary institutions of higher education are varied. College transfer covers the exploratory effort, self-assessment and enrollment steps students take considering their prior learning credentials - which could include coursework grades, credit recommendations or exams reflecting their prior leaning investment and efforts. The application, applicability and articulation of prior course credits from one college or university to another culminates in a student's transfer and enrollment in a program of study, aspiring to complete a college level credential. The assessment of prior learning and the articulation of credit offered to a prospective student varies based upon institutional practices and the enforcement of government policies enacted through legislative or negotiated rules. College transfer also describes the general institutional support services including the academic, enrollment and advising required to help steer students through the complexity of changing institutions or programs of study and to help them understand the impact on requirements for degree completion. College transfer not only spans educational providers and their academic policies, it defines the new normal for the majority of students enrolled in higher education across many countries. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), in 2005 nearly 60% of college graduates in the United States who completed undergraduate degrees had attended two or more institutions prior to graduation. In the United States, roughly 2.5 million students explore college transfer which may involve re-entry from the workforce as students stop and start along their degree pathway.