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In 2016, the Research and Planning Group for California Community Colleges (RP Group) launched the "Through the Gate" transfer study, aimed to identify strategies for increasing transfer among "high-leverage learners" in the California Community Colleges (CCC)--individuals who have completed all or most of their transfer requirements, but who do not make it "through the gate" to a university. Phase 1 of "Through the Gate" included quantitative research to understand the transfer landscape and identify where California is suffering the greatest transfer leaks, determining: (1) how many students in California arrived at the transfer gate, but did not go through; and (2) who they are and where they reside. Building off the wealth of knowledge gained during its first phase, Phase 2 of "Through the Gate" set out to answer the following question: For students whose course-taking indicates they are close to the gate, which factors are most salient as they decide whether or not to transfer to a university? This technical report provides additional detail on the Phase 2 research highlighted in "Students Speak Their Truth about Transfer: What They Need to Get Through the Gate" (Cooper et al., 2020). This report begins with an overview of the methodology for this phase, including: (1) the sampling methods used to arrive at the two main sources of data (the survey of 809 students across 31 colleges and interviews with a subset of 39 survey respondents); and (2) the approach to these two components of the research. Then, the survey and interview findings, including a presentation of the demographics and key characteristics of participants, an outline of transfer motivators and challenges impacting student transfer, a discussion of sources tapped to navigate the transfer journey, and a list of advice from student interviewees to their colleges for improving transfer policies and practices. Following this, the authors outline the research limitations and then summarize the conclusions from this project phase. [For "Through the Gate: Mapping the Transfer Landscape for California Community College Students," see ED590588. For "Students Speak Their Truth about Transfer: What They Need to Get Through the Gate," see ED608978.]

There is documented need for California to produce more bachelor's degree holders. Broad agreement exists that increasing community college transfer is an essential strategy for achieving this critical goal, while at the same time closing equity gaps and promoting mobility for residents of a state plagued with the nation's highest cost of living. What do students say they need to make it through the transfer gate? The RP Group's "Through the Gate" transfer study reveals a lost opportunity for California: Students who are close to transfer, yet struggling to make it to university. In the study's second phase, surveys and interviews with over 800 students across 31 California Community Colleges reveal that transfer students need colleges and universities to provide a more holistic and integrated approach to ensure they reach their goals: a bachelor's degree and economic mobility for themselves and their families. These students--high-leverage learners whose course-taking indicates they are close to transfer--offer rich and useful perspectives about factors impacting the entire transfer journey. Their input can inform both campus- and system-level efforts to achieve the California Community Colleges' Vision for Success goals, and ensure any student who sets a baccalaureate goal has the funds, knowledge, skills, and confidence to transfer. [For "Through the Gate Transfer Study: Phase 2 Technical Report," see ED608940.]

This primer introduces 23 practices designed to support students inside and outside of the classroom and increase their community college success. These case studies illustrate the five themes for effective student support that emerged from Student Support (Re)defined--a multi-year study performed by the Research and Planning Group for California Community Colleges (RP Group). Through Student Support (Re)defined, the RP Group conducted phone surveys and focus groups to ask almost 900 students from 13 California community colleges what supports their educational success. Findings from this research indicate that: (1) colleges need to foster students' motivation; (2) colleges must teach students how to succeed in the postsecondary environment; (3) colleges need to structure support to ensure all six success factors are addressed; (4) colleges need to provide comprehensive support to historically underserved students to prevent the equity gap from growing; and (5) everyone has a role to play in supporting student achievement, but faculty must take the lead. This primer is not a research report. Rather, it offers a range of practical examples and aims to inspire concrete dialog about what community college practitioners can do to strengthen student support at the individual, program and institutional levels. Some practices offer simple ideas that can be readily pursued. Others are more complex, call for careful coordination and planning, and require a significant investment of time and resources. All practices are student-centered and either show potential for scaling and/or replication or are already successfully reaching significant numbers of learners. The RP Group selected these practices based on over 20 years of experience conducting research in the California community college system and drew on the research team and project advisory committee's engagement with national initiatives such as the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, Completion by Design, the Hewlett Leaders in Student Success Award and Excelencia in Education. Each case study includes a brief description of the practice's purpose and design, a discussion of the participant experience, implementation support and challenges, and a consideration of scalability and sustainability. The primer includes a bookmarked table of contents and a series of quick guides at the beginning of the document to help readers connect with the practices that are of greatest interest and relevance to their work. It incorporates discussion questions throughout the document designed to help practitioners reflect on their own college's practices, consider ways to strengthen existing supports and/or begin planning for the adoption of new approaches that promote the success of all learners on campus. The primer additionally offers an introduction to the Student Support (Re)defined study and the student voices that the RP Group has presented to thousands of practitioners, leaders and other stakeholders around California. (Contains 23 references and two sets of discussion questions designed for practitioner and college leadership engagement in the study's findings.)