With the economic crisis in full swing, the latest development impacting enrollment is "reverse transfers," students who move from 4-year institutions to 2-year institutions. According to Barbara Townsend, Director of the Center for Community College Research at the University of Missouri-Columbia, a third of all 2-year students previously attended a 4-year institution. And likewise, as noted in the Inside Higher Ed's article, The New Reverse Transfer, Cuyahoga Community College, Ohio's largest 2-year institution, had an 11 percent increase in the number of "reverse transfers" this spring compared to last.

This new trend poses several new challenges: from an institutional perspective, reverse transfers introduce yet another variable into the retention mix for 4-year schools, and from a student perspective, reverse transfers will undoubtedly need focused advising and orientation activities to assure their successful transition from a 4-year to a 2-year institution and (perhaps) back to a 4-year institution. As long as the economic climate deteriorates, 4-year students will continue to seek a more affordable 2-year option. This is certainly something to consider for the balance of 2009.

-Jeff Papa