How Do Institutional Type and Transfer Affect Contemporary College Students’ Degree Attainment?

ABSTRACT To sustain the higher education industry and address U.S. economic downturns, researchers must prioritize research on undergraduates aged 24 or above – contemporary students. This empirical study finds contemporary students have lower chances of attaining degrees—any degrees—than their younger peers. Using nationally representative U.S. data from the Beginning Postsecondary Longitudinal Study, our interaction models reveal that the penalty experienced by contemporary-age students is more significant at four-year colleges where older students are less than half as likely to attain degrees as their younger peers. Transferring also distinctly and positively enhances the predicted probability of degree attainment for contemporary-age students (p < .000), reducing the age penalty. Our findings underscore the significance of prioritizing contemporary students in research and practice to increase degree attainment. We close with implications for practice, policy, and research.