Students’ pursuit of a college degree may include transferring from one school to another. Students typically transfer from a 2-year school to a 4- year school, a direction known as a vertical transfer. Students can also transfer from a 4-year school to a 2-year school, known as a reverse transfer, or laterally transfer between similar schools (e.g., 2-year to 2- year or 4-year to 4-year). Students can transfer for different reasons, depending on their goals and the type of transfer involved. For example, if a student is seeking to obtain a degree from a relatively expensive school, transferring credits from a less expensive school could help them save on tuition costs. Students may transfer vertically to facilitate completion of a bachelor’s degree. Alternatively, students may initiate a reverse transfer in order to complete an associate’s degree. Further, students who transfer laterally may do so to find a better institutional fit or a degree program that more closely aligns with their goals. Colleges also vary with respect to governance structure, length of degree programs, and other characteristics. Public schools are generally operated by publicly elected or appointed officials. Private schools are operated by individuals or agencies other than governmental entities. Further, private schools can be nonprofit or for-profit entities. Private nonprofit schools are traditionally operated by independent or religious organizations and earnings do not benefit any shareholder or individual, whereas private for-profit schools are owned and operated by private organizations and earnings can benefit shareholders or individuals. Schools are also classified by whether they offer degree programs that are 4 years or 2 years in duration. In this report, we refer to six school types: 2-year public, 2-year private nonprofit, 2-year private for-profit, 4- year public, 4-year private nonprofit, and 4-year private for-profit. A student who wants to transfer credits generally must provide the destination school with a transcript of previously earned credit. Destination schools generally have discretion in determining whether to accept these credits and use various criteria to evaluate them. Criteria can include, for example, a minimum grade requirement, the quality of the student’s coursework, the level and content of the coursework compared to similar courses at the destination school, and the applicability of a course to the degree or programs at the destination school. Many schools enter into voluntary transfer agreements or partnerships with each other—broadly referred to as articulation agreements—which specify how transferred course credits meet program or degree requirements among those schools. Additionally, states can establish statewide articulation agreements as well as credit transfer policies that are generally applicable to schools within the state. Our prior work found that states had enacted a variety of legislation and implemented statewide initiatives, primarily covering public schools, that established transfer agreements and common curricula to facilitate credit transfer. For example, in 2005, we reported that some states identified a block of general education courses for which credits were fully transferable across public schools within that state. We previously reported that, at that time, 39 states had legislation pertaining to transfer of credit between colleges. The Higher Education Opportunity Act requires schools participating in any program authorized under Title IV, which contains various student financial assistance programs, to publicly disclose their credit transfer policies. Specifically, the Act requires schools to publicly disclose, in a readable and comprehensible manner, a statement of their credit transfer policies that includes, at a minimum: (1) any established criteria the school uses regarding the transfer of credit earned at another school and (2) a list of schools with which the school has established an articulation agreement. The cost of attending college generally includes tuition, room and board, books and school supplies, fees, travel costs, and other miscellaneous expenses. As costs increase, college may become less affordable for many students and their families. To help students cover these costs, according to Education, in fiscal year 2016, $125 billion was available to students primarily through the Federal Pell Grant (Pell Grants) program and William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program (Federal Direct Loans). Pell Grants, which do not have to be repaid, are awarded to undergraduate students based on financial need. Federal Direct Loans, either subsidized or unsubsidized by the government and which generally have to be repaid, are available up to the cost of attendance as determined by a student’s school and in accordance with federal limits. Pell Grants and Federal Direct Loans also have eligibility limits based on lifetime use or program length (see table 1). An estimated 35 percent of first-time students transferred schools over a 6-year period, according to Education’s most recent BPS data on students who started in academic year 2003-04 (2004 cohort). Transfer patterns are similar for the cohort of students in the ongoing BPS study who started in academic year 2011-12 (2012 cohort). In addition, the transfer rate among students who originally attended a private for-profit school was lower than among students who attended public or private nonprofit schools (see table 2). Of the students who transferred, an estimated 62 percent of them transferred between public schools. The most common transfer path was from a 2-year public to 4-year public school (see fig. 1). Transfer patterns for the 2012 cohort also show that students transferred between public schools at a higher rate than among other types of schools, based on mid-point data. Additionally, of the students who transferred, a majority (about 75 percent) originally attended a public school. Fewer transfer students originally attended a private nonprofit or private for-profit school, an estimated 19 and 7 percent, respectively. One Student’s Perspective One student wished that his school took greater care to ensure students know exactly which classes they should take to avoid losing credits and incurring additional costs as a result of transferring schools. He is worried that he might have to pay twice for classes he has already taken. Successful transfer of course credits can be hampered when the two schools involved have not established an agreement that specifies how credit transfers will occur. As we previously reported, many schools enter into transfer agreements or partnerships, often referred to as articulation agreements, which specify which course credits meet program or degree requirements at one or more schools (see app. II for an example of a transfer guide based on an articulation agreement). Based on our review of school websites, articulation agreements were more commonly listed among public schools, but private nonprofit and for-profit schools also establish articulation agreements. This level of clarity helps students better plan their college path by helping them understand how specific earned credits will transfer. Stakeholders we interviewed from 16 of 25 higher education organizations and schools said it is more difficult to transfer credits when there is no articulation agreement between schools or state policy outlining how credits will transfer. It is often easier for students to transfer credits when transferring to a school in the same state, especially in states that have policies outlining how credits should transfer, according to stakeholders we interviewed from 7 of 25 higher education organizations and schools. For example, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Florida has a statewide articulation agreement which generally guarantees that students who earn an associate’s degree from a Florida community college can transfer at least 60 credits to one of the 4-year public schools in the state. However, nearly one in five students who started at a 2-year public school and one in four who started at a 4-year public school transfer to a school in a different state, according to a recent National Student Clearinghouse report. One program designed to facilitate successful transfers for students across state lines is the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education’s Interstate Passport program. According to its description, the program accomplishes this by focusing on common learning outcomes across schools in different states rather than determining how individual courses compare to each other. Specifically, faculty and others in the field, such as registrars and advisors, in schools across multiple states agreed upon student learning outcomes and proficiency criteria in different skill areas for general education courses intended to be completed during the first half of a bachelor’s degree program. Students who achieve these learning outcomes are then able to transfer their lower division general education credits to any of the other schools participating in the program. Currently there are 21 schools that are members of the Interstate Passport Network. The type of school is also a factor in successfully transferring credits between schools, according to stakeholders we interviewed from 18 of 25 higher education organizations and schools. For example, according to stakeholders, transferring credits from private for-profit schools can be more difficult than transferring credits from other types of schools. Private for-profit schools are typically nationally accredited whereas public and private nonprofit schools are historically regionally accredited, and we previously reported that regionally accredited schools usually prefer to accept credits only from other regionally accredited schools. Stakeholders from several higher education organizations and schools said national accreditation is seen as less stringent than regional accreditation, though Education recognizes and applies the same standards to both types of accreditors. Additionally, according to one stakeholder, nationally accredited schools tend to offer more technical or vocational degrees where the coursework may be difficult to transfer to other schools. According to our analysis of BPS data, a relatively small percentage of students who originally attended private for-profit schools transfer to another school (16 percent). Students transferring from a 2-year school, such as a community college, can face similar challenges transferring credits. For example, credits earned at 2-year schools may in some cases be seen by 4-year schools as less academically rigorous or more technical in nature than credits earned at the 4-year school, according to stakeholders we interviewed from 12 of 25 higher education organizations and schools. Students can also face challenges transferring credits between public and private schools. According to our prior work, statewide transfer policies generally applied only to public schools. Therefore, when transferring within the public school system, students potentially lose fewer credits compared to transferring between public and private schools.