2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Eliminating Sources of Information Asymmetry in Transfer Articulation

Presented at Transfer issues between 2-year colleges and 4-year Engineering and Engineering Technology programs 2

This paper considers the detailed mechanics of transfer articulation in higher education and uses this foundation to formally quantify the inherent computational difficulties of various transfer-related problems. This background is followed by an investigation of the inefficiencies associated with transfer articulation processes, along with diagnoses of the underlying conditions that produce them. By considering the demographics of those who are most likely to transfer from community colleges, it is possible to identify these conditions as significant structural inequities built into the system of higher education in the United States. The manner in which information asymmetry contributes to these conditions is considered next, demonstrating how they lead to an inefficient marketplace for transfer students. Various approaches that have been used to reduce information asymmetry in transfer are considered, commenting on their potential benefits and limitations, using the computational framework as a reference. Next, a statewide transfer articulation portal is described, detailing how the design of this system was informed by the aforementioned computational framing. This transfer portal supports transfer articulation within a statewide system of schools and was built so as to reduce information asymmetry at a root source, namely by providing clarity around the underlying requirements that must be satisfied through course taking in order to earn a degree at both the home and receiving institutions. The significant complexity of this problem is considered, and an effective approximation algorithm is described that is shown to yield good results. The system also produces analyses of the transfer pathways it finds, helping students and advisors to better understand why various pathways are being recommended. This demonstration leads to a fundamental consideration that is addressed in the paper; specifically, the extent to which transfer processes can be made computable given appropriate relevant information. Finally, a discussion is provided regarding possible approaches that could be used to ensure essential transfer-related data and information is readily available across the system of higher education.

Authors

Prof. Gregory L. Heileman http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5221-5682 The University of Arizona [biography]

Gregory (Greg) L. Heileman currently serves as the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Arizona, where he is responsible for facilitating collaboration across campus to strategically enhance quality and institutional capacity related to undergraduate programs and academic administration. He has served in various administrative capacities in higher education since 2004.
Professor Heileman currently serves on the Executive Committee of AZTransfer, an organization that works across the system of higher education in the State of Arizona to ensure students have access to efficient, seamless, and simple ways to transfer from a community college to a university in Arizona. He serves on the board of the Association for Undergraduate Education at Research Universities, a consortium that brings together research university leaders with expertise in the theory and practice of undergraduate education and student success. In addition, he is a fellow at the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education.
Professor Heileman’s work on analytics related to student success has led to the development of a theory of curricular analytics that is now being used broadly across higher education in order to inform improvement efforts related to curricular efficiency, curricular equity, and student progression.
Prof. Chaouki T Abdallah Georgia Institute of Technology [biography]

Chaouki T. Abdallah started his college education at the Ecole Supérieure d'Ingénieurs de Beyrouth - Université Saint-Joseph in Beirut, Lebanon, but finished his undergraduate studies at Youngstown State University, with a Bachelors of Engineering degree in Electrical Engineering in 1981. He then obtained his MS and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from GA Tech in 1982, and 1988 respectively. He joined the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) department at the University of New Mexico where he became professor and Provost & EVP for academic affairs between 2011 and 2018. Since 2018, he is the Executive Vice President for Research at Georgia Tech & professor of ECE. Professor Abdallah conducts research and teaches courses in the general area of systems theory with focus on control and communications systems. His research has been funded by national funding agencies, national laboratories, and by various companies. He has also been active in designing and implementing various international graduate programs with Latin American and European countries. He was a co-founder in 1990 of the ISTEC consortium, which currently includes more than 150 universities in the US, Spain, and Latin America. He has published 7 books, and more than 300 peer- reviewed papers. His PhD students hold academic positions in the USA and in Europe, and senior technical positions in various US National Laboratories.

Professor Abdallah is a senior member of IEEE and a recipient of the IEEE Millennium medal. He is also active in the IEEE Control Systems Society most recently serving as the general chair of the 2008 Conference of Decision and Control CDC 2008.
Dr. Andrew Karl Koch John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education [biography]

Dr. Andrew K. Koch is the President and Chief Operating Officer of the non-profit John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education. A leading advocate for making evidence-based changes to teaching and learning that yield more equitable

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