Sophomore transfers: Who are they and what support do they need?

Due to the increasing need for more engineers in the United States and given that less than 50% of the students who begin an engineering degree actually complete it, retention has recently drawn a lot of attention and study. Over the past 10-20 years, an increased emphasis has been placed on supportive freshman programs as an answer to "weed-out courses." As freshman retention has increased, attention has turned to the next highest dropout point for engineering students which is during or after their sophomore year. Sophomore retention programs are becoming popular. As the need for more engineers continues, another area which has received increased attention is the recruitment of engineering students from community colleges. Although some upper division transfer students are able to graduate in two years, many take three years or more. Although classified as juniors, the students who need at least three more years to graduate are really "sophomore transfers." Very little research has been done on sophomore transfers in engineering. Beginning in fall 2013, Arizona State University recognized this group of students and placed a cohort of them in a lower division Academic Success and Professional Development class. This paper will discuss who "sophomore transfer" students are and explore the type of support that they need.