View in EDS

Uncounted Credits: How Transfer Students Lose Momentum toward a Bachelor's Degree in Maryland. Maryland Higher Education Commission Policy Brief

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Uncounted Credits: How Transfer Students Lose Momentum toward a Bachelor's Degree in Maryland. Maryland Higher Education Commission Policy Brief
Language: English
Authors: Yuxin Lin, Stacey Brockman, Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC)
Source: Maryland Higher Education Commission. 2026.
Availability: Maryland Higher Education Commission. 6 North Liberty Street, Baltimore, MD 21201; Tel: 800-974-0203; Tel: 410-767-3301; Web site: http://www.mhec.state.md.us
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 10
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Two Year Colleges
Descriptors: Community Colleges, College Credits, College Transfer Students, Transfer Policy, Bachelors Degrees, Time to Degree, Courses, Time Factors (Learning), Race, State Legislation
Geographic Terms: Maryland
Abstract: Transfer student success is a policy priority in Maryland. While "transfer" is a broad term that includes any students who move across postsecondary institutions, "vertical transfer students," those moving from community colleges to four-year colleges and universities, are most common. Several Maryland policies aim to improve transfer student success. Despite these efforts, transfer students continue to face challenges in completing baccalaureate degrees on-time. Maryland has one of the highest vertical transfer rates in the nation, yet only about 50% of transfer students in the state earn a Bachelor's degree within six years of their community college entry. An obstacle transfer students face is that when they transfer, sometimes their community college credits may not transfer with them. Research defines credit loss as when community college credits either do not transfer (denials) or are not applied towards students' four-year degree programs. Losing credits during transfer can slow down students' progress resulting in lost time, resources, and effort for students and institutions, as students retake courses and delay their time to degree. A first step in addressing credit loss is understanding the size of the problem. However, credit loss is hard to measure in Maryland because data on which credits "count" is currently not collected. This report looks at "excess credits"--extra credits earned at community colleges that do not end up counting toward a Bachelor's degree--as a way to estimate credit loss. While it is not a perfect measure, excess credits are still a useful benchmark. The goal of this report is to set a starting point for tracking Maryland's progress in addressing the problem of credit loss. [This report was produced by the Maryland Higher Education Commission's Office of Research and Policy Analysis.]
Abstractor: ERIC
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: ED679692
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
CustomLinks:
  – Url: https://eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED679692
    Name: ERIC Full Text
    Category: fullText
    Text: Full Text from ERIC
Header DbId: eric
DbLabel: ERIC
An: ED679692
AccessLevel: 3
PubType: Report
PubTypeId: report
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Uncounted Credits: How Transfer Students Lose Momentum toward a Bachelor's Degree in Maryland. Maryland Higher Education Commission Policy Brief
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Yuxin+Lin%22">Yuxin Lin</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Stacey+Brockman%22">Stacey Brockman</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Maryland+Higher+Education+Commission+%28MHEC%29%22">Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC)</searchLink>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Maryland+Higher+Education+Commission%22"><i>Maryland Higher Education Commission</i></searchLink>. 2026.
– Name: Avail
  Label: Availability
  Group: Avail
  Data: Maryland Higher Education Commission. 6 North Liberty Street, Baltimore, MD 21201; Tel: 800-974-0203; Tel: 410-767-3301; Web site: http://www.mhec.state.md.us
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: N
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 10
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2026
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Reports - Research
– Name: Audience
  Label: Education Level
  Group: Audnce
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Higher+Education%22">Higher Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Postsecondary+Education%22">Postsecondary Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Two+Year+Colleges%22">Two Year Colleges</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Community+Colleges%22">Community Colleges</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22College+Credits%22">College Credits</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22College+Transfer+Students%22">College Transfer Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Transfer+Policy%22">Transfer Policy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Bachelors+Degrees%22">Bachelors Degrees</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Time+to+Degree%22">Time to Degree</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Courses%22">Courses</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Time+Factors+%28Learning%29%22">Time Factors (Learning)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Race%22">Race</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22State+Legislation%22">State Legislation</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Maryland%22">Maryland</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Transfer student success is a policy priority in Maryland. While "transfer" is a broad term that includes any students who move across postsecondary institutions, "vertical transfer students," those moving from community colleges to four-year colleges and universities, are most common. Several Maryland policies aim to improve transfer student success. Despite these efforts, transfer students continue to face challenges in completing baccalaureate degrees on-time. Maryland has one of the highest vertical transfer rates in the nation, yet only about 50% of transfer students in the state earn a Bachelor's degree within six years of their community college entry. An obstacle transfer students face is that when they transfer, sometimes their community college credits may not transfer with them. Research defines credit loss as when community college credits either do not transfer (denials) or are not applied towards students' four-year degree programs. Losing credits during transfer can slow down students' progress resulting in lost time, resources, and effort for students and institutions, as students retake courses and delay their time to degree. A first step in addressing credit loss is understanding the size of the problem. However, credit loss is hard to measure in Maryland because data on which credits "count" is currently not collected. This report looks at "excess credits"--extra credits earned at community colleges that do not end up counting toward a Bachelor's degree--as a way to estimate credit loss. While it is not a perfect measure, excess credits are still a useful benchmark. The goal of this report is to set a starting point for tracking Maryland's progress in addressing the problem of credit loss. [This report was produced by the Maryland Higher Education Commission's Office of Research and Policy Analysis.]
– Name: AbstractInfo
  Label: Abstractor
  Group: Ab
  Data: ERIC
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2026
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: ED679692
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=ED679692
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 10
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Community Colleges
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: College Credits
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: College Transfer Students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Transfer Policy
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Bachelors Degrees
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Time to Degree
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Courses
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Time Factors (Learning)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Race
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: State Legislation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Maryland
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Uncounted Credits: How Transfer Students Lose Momentum toward a Bachelor's Degree in Maryland. Maryland Higher Education Commission Policy Brief
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC)
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Yuxin Lin
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Stacey Brockman
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 01
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Maryland Higher Education Commission
              Type: main
ResultId 1