2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

In this full student-led research paper, we investigate the social networks of both lateral and vertical engineering transfer students to determine how integrated they are at their current institution, and how their social connectedness can affect the extent of their transfer shock. Transfer shock is a decrease in GPA that a transfer student might experience at their new institution and can affect their likelihood of graduation. The research questions we answer as part of this study are: 1) How do the social networks of lateral and vertical transfer students differ from one another? and 2) What is the correlation between a transfer student’s social network and their experience of transfer shock?

To answer the research questions, a survey was sent to all engineering undergraduate transfer students at a mid-sized, Mid-Atlantic university. The survey includes basic demographic questions (age, race, gender, etc.), transfer status, GPA, and questions regarding the participant’s social network. The social network questions asked the participant to name up to 10 of their closest friends at the university and answer basic questions about these friends (age, gender, major, and whether a friend is a transfer student). Participants then identified whether the friends they named know one another in order to generate an ego-network for each participant.

Social network analysis will be done using the software Cytoscape and during this analysis, the goal is to investigate ego network homophily, social capital, and clustering coefficient. The homophily measure will allow us to determine the extent to which vertical and lateral transfer students form bonds with other transfer students compared to non-transfer students. Social capital is a measure of worth resulting from social interactions within a social network. For example, if a transfer student harbors friendships with students who can assist them academically or socially, they are more likely to succeed later on. Clustering coefficient measures how dense and interconnected an individual's social network is. Collectively, these questions should help with understanding any differences between vertical and lateral transfer students’ networks and how a transfer student’s social network impacts their degree of transfer shock. The results of this research could provide insight to faculty and staff who support transfer students and may suggest interventions to reduce transfer shock.