2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Adjustment Experiences Among Engineering Transfer Students: A Pilot Study at a Four-Year Institution in Florida

Presented at Two-Year College Division (TYCD) Technical Session 2: Student Success and Support

The vertical transfer pathway, where students start at community colleges before transferring to four-year institutions, significantly impacts workforce development, contributing 12% to 17% of all engineering bachelor's degrees awarded annually. Because engineering transfer pathways enroll a high proportion of Black and Hispanic students and support economic mobility for lower-income and first-generation learners, understanding their adjustment is critical to advancing equity and student success. This study presents results from a pilot survey of 60 vertical transfer students in engineering at Sunshine University (SU), a large, selective R1 university in Florida. The survey, adapted from the Laanan Transfer Student Questionnaire (L-TSQ), examined students’ academic, social, and psychological adjustment. Quantitative analysis showed significant gender differences: women reported more difficulty than men, with notable differences in several adjustment areas. Thematic analysis of qualitative open-ended responses highlighted themes in students’ adjustment, such as SU's academic rigor, the importance of community support, and the skills needed for a successful transfer. Findings from this study emphasize the need for targeted institutional support to address gender disparities and enhance community-building among engineering vertical transfer students. Future work will expand the study to include a larger, more diverse sample and investigate longitudinal trends in adjustment experiences to inform evidence-based policies that support vertical transfer student success in engineering education.

Authors

Caroline Lubbe University of Florida [biography]

Caroline Lubbe is a second year Chemical Engineering Ph.D. candidate at the University of Florida. She works with Dr. Sindia Rivera-Jiménez within the Engineering Communities & Participatory Change (ECoPaC) research group. Her research efforts center on the post-transfer self-adjustment experiences of engineering community college transfer students.
Dr. Sindia M. Rivera-Jiménez http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8325-1136 University of Florida [biography]

Dr. Rivera-Jiménez is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Engineering Education (EED) and an affiliate faculty to the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Florida. Her research focuses on understanding the role of engineering communities while enacting their agency in participatory and transformational change. She is particularly interested in broadening the participation of minoritized communities by studying the role of professional development in shaping organizational cultures. As an education practitioner, she also looks at evidence-based practices to incorporate social responsibility skills and collaborative and inclusive teams into the curriculum. Dr. Rivera-Jiménez graduated from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez with a B.S. and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering. She earned an NSF RIEF award recognizing her effort in transitioning from a meaningful ten-year teaching faculty career into engineering education research. Before her current role, she taught STEM courses at diverse institutions such as HSI, community college, and R1 public university.
Ms. Ayla Sevilleno University of Florida [biography]

Ayla Sevilleno is pursuing a degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida and expects to graduate in Spring 2028.
Justin Ortagus University of Florida [biography]

Justin C. Ortagus is an Associate Professor of Higher Education Administration & Policy and Director of the Institute of Higher Education. His research typically examines the impact of online education, community colleges, and state policies on the opportunities and outcomes of underserved college students. His recent work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the William T. Grant Foundation and published in such venues as Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, American Educational Research Journal, and Educational Researcher. Dr. Ortagus has testified before the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor on the role and influence of need-based financial aid for low-income students. His work and expertise have also been featured in USA Today, NBC News, Forbes, Teen Vogue, CNBC, and other news media outlets.

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