Trend's In Transfers at Georgia State University

Georgia State University’s student population is amongst the most diverse in the nation whether one is analyzing age, geographic location or ethnic/racial backgrounds. The school itself is often celebrated for being able to attract non-traditional students to start their program, but how many students does the school end up retaining? This study utilizes data gathered on students who matriculated at GSU as full time first-year students between fall 2010 and fall 2020, with various demographics such as age, sex, race/ethnicity, major, GPA, class level and hours completed as well as what schools these students transferred to. We compared that to the national averages established by the National Student Clearinghouse, an organization to which 98% of accredited university’s submit student data, allowing tracking where students went and the current status of their education. While the Clearinghouse has published many articles analyzing trends in national student retention over the years using different variables, there are few studies looking for correlation between majors and transfers. The results of this study show that Georgia State University as a whole is performing slightly better than state and national average, with GSU having a total transfer rate of 29.1% compared to the 37.2% national average and the 38.3% Georgia average.  The most popular declared majors among first year students over the ten year period at GSU are Undeclared, Biology, Computer Science and Exploratory. The highest rates of transfer per capita are in Biology, Undeclared, Nursing, Computer Science, and Psychology. Students were most likely to transfer out during their sophomore year. GSU’s commitment to providing unique experiences to its students may have led to its below-average transfer rates. Although retention techniques are shifting towards the social aspects of the college experience, utilizing institution wide analysis based on academic demographics can serve as a strong indicator of how the major/institution is performing as a whole.