Abstract: While community college transfer pathways have the potential to increase access into higher education, that promise has yet to be fully realized. Transfer rates remain low, especially within competitive majors like computer science. While the students who are able to successfully transfer into computer science represent a diverse and talented group, they face myriad barriers that can threaten their success (e.g., credit loss, challenges navigating lengthy course sequences, inaccessible financial aid, etc.). Drawing upon data collected over four years from across five computing departments in the UC system, I will provide an overview of how community college transfer students navigate their degree and early career trajectories. I will also share implications for how universities can proactively foster transfer student success and remove structural barriers. While this talk will be relevant for individuals working across a range of university contexts, I will focus specifically on implications relevant for faculty, staff, and administrators working within computer science and related disciplines.
Bio: Jennifer M. Blaney is an Associate Professor in the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education at the University of Georgia. She completed her PhD in higher education from UCLA and previously served on the faculty at Northern Arizona University and Idaho State University. Dr. Blaney’s research primarily focuses on how community college transfer can function as a mechanism for advancing equity in computing and other STEM fields. Dr. Blaney has authored more than 30 peer reviewed publications, and her scholarship has been recognized through multiple awards, including the 2024 Townsend Emerging Scholar Award from the Council for the Study of Community Colleges, a 2023 NAEd/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship, and an NSF CAREER award.
Abstract: While community college transfer pathways have the potential to increase access into higher education, that promise has yet to be fully realized. Transfer rates remain low, especially within competitive majors like computer science. While the students who are able to successfully transfer into computer science represent a diverse and talented group, they face myriad barriers that can threaten their success (e.g., credit loss, challenges navigating lengthy course sequences, inaccessible financial aid, etc.). Drawing upon data collected over four years from across five computing departments in the UC system, I will provide an overview of how community college transfer students navigate their degree and early career trajectories. I will also share implications for how universities can proactively foster transfer student success and remove structural barriers. While this talk will be relevant for individuals working across a range of university contexts, I will focus specifically on implications relevant for faculty, staff, and administrators working within computer science and related disciplines.
Bio: Jennifer M. Blaney is an Associate Professor in the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education at the University of Georgia. She completed her PhD in higher education from UCLA and previously served on the faculty at Northern Arizona University and Idaho State University. Dr. Blaney’s research primarily focuses on how community college transfer can function as a mechanism for advancing equity in computing and other STEM fields. Dr. Blaney has authored more than 30 peer reviewed publications, and her scholarship has been recognized through multiple awards, including the 2024 Townsend Emerging Scholar Award from the Council for the Study of Community Colleges, a 2023 NAEd/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship, and an NSF CAREER award.