Academic Momentum and Credit Mobility: Examining the Role of CUNY's Transfer Explorer
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| Title: | Academic Momentum and Credit Mobility: Examining the Role of CUNY's Transfer Explorer |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Alex Monday, David Wutchiett, Alexandra W. Logue, Ithaka S+R |
| Source: | ITHAKA S+R. 2026. |
| Availability: | ITHAKA S+R. Available from: ITHAKA. One Liberty Plaza, 165 Broadway 5th Floor, New York, NY 10006. Tel: 212-500-2355; e-mail: ithakasr@ithaka.org; Web site: https://sr.ithaka.org |
| Peer Reviewed: | N |
| Page Count: | 19 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Sponsoring Agency: | Ascendium Education Group, Inc. |
| Document Type: | Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education Two Year Colleges |
| Descriptors: | Community College Students, College Transfer Students, Undergraduate Study, Program Evaluation, Program Effectiveness, Computer Uses in Education, Influence of Technology, College Credits, Degree Requirements, Decision Making, Transfer Policy, Information Dissemination, Databases, Computer Oriented Programs, Educational Media |
| Geographic Terms: | New York (New York) |
| DOI: | 10.18665/sr.325429 |
| Abstract: | Across the United States, many community college students intend to earn a bachelor's degree, but far fewer do so. A major reason is that transfer processes are often inefficient and opaque. The City University of New York (CUNY) created Transfer Explorer (T-REX) to help ameliorate these problems. Launched in 2020, T-REX is a systemwide, public-facing tool that shows how courses transfer across CUNY's 20 undergraduate colleges and, critically, whether those courses apply to specific degree requirements. This report examines whether using T-REX is associated with improved early transfer outcomes for CUNY students who move from a CUNY community college to a CUNY bachelor's-degree-granting college. Using administrative data for first-time vertical transfer students initiating transfer between Fall 2020 and Spring 2025, the authors compare outcomes for students who logged in to T-REX before or during the year they transferred and students who did not. They focus on two outcomes measured at the bachelor's-degree-granting college (the receiving institution): (1) the total number of courses transferred and (2) the number of transferred courses that count toward non-elective degree requirements (e.g., major, minor, or general education requirements). To assess these outcomes, the authors constructed a research process that accounts for differences in students' academic backgrounds and demographics, their programs of study, the timing of their transfer, and the institutions they transferred into. |
| Abstractor: | ERIC |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | ED681033 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Across the United States, many community college students intend to earn a bachelor's degree, but far fewer do so. A major reason is that transfer processes are often inefficient and opaque. The City University of New York (CUNY) created Transfer Explorer (T-REX) to help ameliorate these problems. Launched in 2020, T-REX is a systemwide, public-facing tool that shows how courses transfer across CUNY's 20 undergraduate colleges and, critically, whether those courses apply to specific degree requirements. This report examines whether using T-REX is associated with improved early transfer outcomes for CUNY students who move from a CUNY community college to a CUNY bachelor's-degree-granting college. Using administrative data for first-time vertical transfer students initiating transfer between Fall 2020 and Spring 2025, the authors compare outcomes for students who logged in to T-REX before or during the year they transferred and students who did not. They focus on two outcomes measured at the bachelor's-degree-granting college (the receiving institution): (1) the total number of courses transferred and (2) the number of transferred courses that count toward non-elective degree requirements (e.g., major, minor, or general education requirements). To assess these outcomes, the authors constructed a research process that accounts for differences in students' academic backgrounds and demographics, their programs of study, the timing of their transfer, and the institutions they transferred into. |
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| DOI: | 10.18665/sr.325429 |
