With support from an NSF CAREER Award (2435201), this project will explore the degree and early career trajectories that community college transfer students follow, focusing on how students make meaning of their success over time. This mixed methods study will rely on longitudinal data in the form of surveys and ethnographic interviews, beginning from the time students transfer to one of five participating universities and following them as they matriculate through their CS degree programs and enter their careers. Specific analyses will be guided by two overarching questions: (1) What trajectories do community college transfer students follow in their computer science bachelor’s degree pursuits? (2) How do community college transfer students following varying degree trajectories describe and make meaning of their experiences? Person-centered statistical analyses and ethnographic interviews will also explore variation by gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic background. In particular, this study will add nuance and complexity in terms of how we understand community college transfer student success, pushing us to define success beyond traditional metrics (e.g., degree efficiency; four- or six-year graduation rates; etc.). In doing so, this study will build a more robust knowledge base that can be used to support community college transfer students as they exercise agency throughout their degree programs and obtain their professional goals.
Research Team
Jennifer Blaney, PI
Kaitlyn Stormes, Postdoctoral Scholar
Ernest Adom, Graduate Research Assistant
Yuwen Cheng, Graduate Research Assistant
Jennifer Blaney, PI
Kaitlyn Stormes, Postdoctoral Scholar
Ernest Adom, Graduate Research Assistant
Yuwen Cheng, Graduate Research Assistant
From left to right: Kaitlyn Stormes, Ernest Adom, Jennifer Blaney, and Yuwen Cheng
Recent Presentations and Publications
Blaney, J. M. (in press). Toward a Transfer-Conscious University: Fulfilling the Promise of Community College Pathways. Johns Hopkins University Press. https://doi.org/10.56021/9781421456638
Blaney, J. M. (2025). Breaking “finish-in-four stigma”: How community college transfer women make meaning of their degree trajectories and computer science identity. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 31(6), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.2025053167
Stormes, K., & Blaney, J. M. (2026). A latent class analysis of university degree trajectories among computer science transfer students. Roundtable presentation at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting, Los Angeles, CA.
Blaney, J. M. (in press). Toward a Transfer-Conscious University: Fulfilling the Promise of Community College Pathways. Johns Hopkins University Press. https://doi.org/10.56021/9781421456638
Blaney, J. M. (2025). Breaking “finish-in-four stigma”: How community college transfer women make meaning of their degree trajectories and computer science identity. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 31(6), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.2025053167
Stormes, K., & Blaney, J. M. (2026). A latent class analysis of university degree trajectories among computer science transfer students. Roundtable presentation at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting, Los Angeles, CA.