Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of support services on grade point average (GPA) and timely baccalaureate attainment among community college transfer students. More specifically, the study investigated whether utilizing any of the five-support services (orientation, academic advising, tutoring, and counseling and psychology services) increased students’ success and timely graduation. GPA served as a mark of academic success. Timely graduation was defined as graduation in two or three years after transfer to the University of California at Davis (UC Davis). This study utilized two mixed methods surveys. Correlation, linear regression, and binary logistic regression analyses were used to analyze the five research questions. Five research questions guided this study. The regression results showed that longer orientation, helpful tutoring, and financial aid could predict higher GPA. The results further showed that Counseling and Psychology Services (CAPS) retained students on campus through graduation. Moreover, the analysis of the qualitative data showed that good quality of academic advisement and tutoring could increase students’ success. While this study yielded important findings about how support services could support community college transfer students at four year institutions and increased the likelihood of their timely graduation (two or three after transfer), more research is needed on how to increase the success of community college transfer students at four-year institutions.