Relationship between vertical transfer students' grit, first-semester academic performance, and social integration

The pathway for community college students to transfer vertically into four-year institutions to complete a bachelor's degree was designed nearly a century ago, yet it remains plagued by the same structural problems, such as confusing admissions processes, lack of transparent advising resources, and unrealistic time-to-degree demands without guidance (Handel & Williams, 2012). These transfer pathways have been built upon cognitive variables and provide minimal insight into the role non-cognitive qualities play in vertical transfer students' first-semester academic performance and social integration. This quantitative non-experimental study examined the relationship between 405 vertical transfer students' self-reported grit, academic performance, and social integration during their first semester of enrollment in a four-year college or university. The students are referred to in the study as the VTR cohort. Following analysis of the cohort's Short Grit Scale (Grit-S) surveys, along with academic performance and social integration data retrieved from the study site's Ellucian Banner, Canvas, and OrgSync platforms, the data provided clear conclusions to the research questions. Except for a weak statistically significant negative correlation between students' grit and missing assignments in Canvas, one of the variables defining the VTR cohort's academic performance, there was no statistically significant relationship between grit and the cohort's academic performance or social integration and no difference in grit scores based upon grade point average (GPA) performance above or below 2.00. The study findings suggest that vertical transfers demonstrate the capacity to successfully complete an associate degree, and therefore are "gritty" upon entrance into a four-year institution. Strayhorn's (2008) research demonstrated a positive association between grit and achievement, which serves to support the lack of such a relationship in this study. Furthermore, vertical transfer students may opt not to formally engage with structured social integration platforms and services within four-year institutions, but the absence of formal engagement does not correlate with students' low grit scores or any significant reduction in their academic performance. Based upon these conclusions, the researcher recommends the study site and the field of higher education continue to examine the non-cognitive variables and practices that may impact the transfer pathway, both for vertical transfers and for the 13 other subsets within the transfer population (Handel & Williams, 2012). Conclusively, further qualitative research is suggested to explore the personal experiences of vertical transfer students during their transition into four-year institutions.