Why Fixing the Transfer Process Is an Equity Issue for Colleges

For all its leaks and clogs, the transfer pipeline from community colleges is becoming an increasingly important conduit for four-year colleges seeking to not only fill their seats but also maintain momentum toward diversifying their enrollments. Two-year colleges enroll a disproportionate number of Black and Hispanic undergraduates, who rely on the transfer process to save time and money while pursuing a bachelor’s degree. So community colleges would seem to be a natural recruiting ground for colleges that are now legally banned from considering an applicant’s race in admissions. The U.S. Supreme Court’s June decision, in a case involving Harvard and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has many colleges worried that already-low minority enrollments might slip further, especially among more-selective institutions.