Collin College remains deeply committed to the strategic goals of improving student outcomes and supporting student transitions. As such, the most appropriate guiding theoretical foundation rests on theories and models that characterize student success as an emergent feature of students’ successful transition into college life. 

One of those theories is Nancy Schlossberg’s (1981) Transition Theory, which argues that major life transitions create significant disruptions across multiple dimensions of individuals’ lives. According to the theory, individuals adapt to change, which is to say that they move from “being totally preoccupied with the transition to integrating the transition into his or her life” (pg. 7) based on the nature of the transition, differences in pre- and post-transition environments, and individual personal characteristics. Figure 1 in the right-side column presents a model of the theory.

Another theory that highlights the role of successful transitions in first-year student success is the W-Curve model, introduced by Gullahorn and Gullahorn (1963), and further appropriated for college student success by Lewis and Jungman (1986). Similar to Schlossberg’s (1981) Transition Theory model, the W-Curve model suggests that new students acclimate to college life through a series of stages wherein they experience excitement upon entering, and then go through a kind of “culture shock” (Jungman, 1986, pg. 42). Then, they go through periods of adjustment, isolation, and integration as they build stronger social networks and familiarize themselves with the culture of college.  

In the context of the first-year experience, the transition to the college environment can be disruptive to the home life, social relationships, personal roles, and routines (Chickering & Schlossberg, 2002). Barclay (2017) further elaborated that as students transition to college, they experience several phases of change: moving in, moving through, and moving out. In the moving-in phase, students encounter the stresses and anxieties of the unknowns of college, like learning new student portals and virtual class platforms, registration procedures, complex degree plans, developmental courses, financial aid, and making new friends. This is the phase where “culture shock” is most impactful. In the moving-through phase, students learn about their new roles and routines as college students, and they begin to balance new friends and responsibilities with already established ones. This phase is also where students find a balance between maintaining new roles and relationships with school work and getting good grades. The moving-out phase is characterized by a complete integration of new roles and responsibilities to facilitate success in further stages of life. 

Together, Schlossberg’s (1981) Transition Theory model and Gullahorn and Gullahorn’s (1963) W-Curve model create a strong theoretical foundation to inform robust FYE programs and initiatives. This is because according to both models, students are successful in their first year of college to the degree that they can transition through the various phases of change in a constructive way; i.e. “take stock” (Barclay, 2017, pg. 25). Taking stock means to undergo a process of critical reflection and examination to identify coping resources in transitional situations, and it is affected by a) the student’s situation, b) level of support, c) the student’s identity and capacity to deal with change, and d) specific strategies for coping with change. 

As a consequence of using a transitional theoretical framework, faculty and staff can “help students take charge of their transitions and benefit from the challenges of the transition” (Barclay, 2017, pg. 24). This means helping students to understand and properly diagnose their situation, providing positive and dynamic support systems, helping students attach meaning to their experiences, and helping them identify concrete ways to adapt to their college environment. Additionally, a transitional framework is ideal for this QEP endeavor because it uniquely applies to students entering a two-year college. As noted by Karp (2011), other theories of student success, particularly those dealing with fall-to-spring persistence and fall-to-fall retention “present an image of college attendance in which the four-year, residential model—replete with its many opportunities for integration and connectedness—is the norm” (Karp, 2011, pg. 3). Karp (2011) also stated that other theories of student persistence do not “account for the experiences and outcomes of the many part-time, commuter, and underrepresented minority students attending two-year institutions” (pg. 3). Unlike traditional theories of student development and success, transitional theories uniquely take into account the experiences of students at the community college level.

References

Barclay, S. R. (2017). Schlossberg's transition theory. In W. K. Killam, & S. Degges-White (Eds.), College Student Development (pp. 23-34). New York: Springer Publishing Company, LLC.

Chickering, A. W., & Schlossberg, N. K. (2002). Getting the most out of college (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Gullahorn, J. T., & Gullahorn, J. E. (1963). An extension of the W-Curve hypothesis. Journal of Social Issues, 33-47.

Karp, M. M. (2011). Toward a new understanding of non-academic student support: Four mechanisms encouraging positive student outcomes in the community college. Columbia University, Teachers College. New York: Community College Research Center.

Lewis, T. J., & Jungman, R. E. (1986). Introduction. In T. J. Lewis, & R. E. Jungman (Eds.), On being foreign: Culture shock in short fiction (pp. xvii-xxv). Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press.

Schlossberg, N. (1981). A model for analyzing human adaptation to transition. The Counseling Psychologist, 9(2), 2-18. doi:10.1177/001100008100900202