Abstract:

Introduction:
In a comprehensive review of postsecondary students’ academic performance, Hills (1965) identified a common phenomenon: students moving from two-year institutions to four-year institutions tend to experience an accompanying decline in grade point average (GPA). Labelled “transfer shock,” this concept continues to generate interest.

While numerous studies have suggested causes of transfer shock, the majority have not been rigorously investigated. Regardless, transfer shock has cast a shadow over the process of student mobility by being viewed as representative of students’ inability to adjust academically, as well as indicative of other psycho-socio-emotional challenges. Although this association has led to recommendations for transfer student resources, it can also be detrimental by unfairly stereotyping these students as academically inferior.

One main tenet of transfer shock is that it is specific to transfer students. However, there is conflicting evidence as to whether it might also be relevant for students entering university from high school. Additionally, the assumption that transfer shock only occurs upon entering university, and not at any other point during the postsecondary career, has yet to be addressed.

The purpose of this preliminary investigation was to explore the following questions:
1. Do non-transfer students experience transfer shock during the first year of university?
2. Do undergraduate students experience transfer shock during the transition between other year levels within a four-year degree program?

Method:
Institutional secondary data was obtained for an undergraduate kinesiology program at a university in Northern Ontario. The main measure of interest was GPA for each year-level of the program between the years 2005 and 2016. The researchers organized the data by student cohort, then documented the typical progression of each cohort through the program and identified changes in GPA. Descriptive statistics was used to tabulate, graph and describe the data.

Results:
For all cohorts, GPA decreased in the first semester of Year 1 of university as compared to high school. Furthermore, with one exception, all cohorts’ cumulative Year 1 GPA was lower than high school GPA. Also, with one exception, all cohorts experienced a decrease in GPA in the first semester of Year 2 of university.

Discussion:
Transfer shock continues to be an important focus in education research due to its potential influence on students, institutions, and the transfer process. Despite being a relevant topic for over fifty years, transfer shock is yet to be fully understood.

The results of the current study indicate that for each cohort of students entering university from high school, GPA decreased in Year 1, suggesting that these students seem to experience transfer shock similar to students entering university from college. The results also show a decrease in GPA for the first semester of Year 2 as compared to Year 1. This trend seems to indicate that transfer shock could occur at other year levels during an undergraduate program, rather than only upon entry to university.

Because this study was exploratory and the sample size was limited, these patterns could represent characteristics specific to the population, program, or institution of focus. Future research will include a larger, more diverse sample with measures related to psycho-social factors to provide further insight into trends associated with transfer shock.

Keywords:

Transfer shock, postsecondary students, student mobility.