Over 17 years ago, when I first entered community college as a first-generation Pell recipient, I had no idea how the transfer process worked or what resources were available. Thankfully, my institution, Borough of Manhattan Community College, shared opportunities like ASAP and the Kaplan Leadership Program, which supported me through the transfer process. Unfortunately, many of the barriers to transfer that existed back then still impact students today.

At the Kaplan Educational Foundation, we work daily with students struggling to navigate the college transfer process, and I’ve noticed that the lack of access to clear and timely information, guidance, and mental-health supports is a persistent problem.

A report released last year by the Center for Community College Student Engagement (CCCSE) at the University of Texas at Austin backs that up. It found that almost half of the students surveyed at 40 different community colleges weren’t aware of the transfer assistance services their institutions offer. What’s more, the students who received Pell grants had the same desire to transfer as their higher-income counterparts, but were far less likely to do so.

The complexity of the transfer process is high, and students transferring from a community college to a four-year university often lose credits along the way. This helps explain why only about 1 in 6 community college students who aspire to transfer to four-year colleges actually graduate. We need more efforts like those being undertaken by a new coalition of 32 community colleges and 32 four-year universities, led by the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program, which aims to improve transfer pathways for students by streamlining credit transfer and conducting research on transfer outcomes to identify and replicate successful institutional practices.

One member, the Community College of Rhode Island, has hired a full-time transfer coordinator to advise students about which courses will be accepted for credit by the institutions they want to attend next. Figuring this out is remarkably hard for the large number of students who attend a community college and aspire to transfer. But CCRI has already made impressive progress. Since it began efforts to unclog the transfer pipeline, it has cut in half the dismaying 42% of its 270 general education classes that weren’t previously accepted for credit by Rhode Island’s two public universities. We need many more practical, hands-on reform efforts like this one, especially for Black and Latino students, who have much lower transfer and bachelor’s degree attainment rates than their white counterparts.

We also need to pay more attention to the timing of when students receive this key information. Long before I became the executive director of the Kaplan Educational Foundation (KEF), my first job out of college was an entry-level position at KEF. My task was to recruit promising students who needed assistance in navigating the transfer process from a community college to a four-year school.

I remember meeting amazing students when I attended community college fairs around New York City. Many of the young people seeking advice on their next steps would clearly have done well in our program. Unfortunately, we were starting too late. It quickly became clear to me that by the time we reached students — sometimes just a few weeks before community college graduation — there wasn’t enough time to help them understand the transfer process and prepare for a successful transition. I realized that for our support to be effective, it was essential to connect with students as soon as they committed to attending a community college.

Now, thanks to our new early intervention program for high school students, we will be able to reach 150 young people from underserved communities much sooner. A crucial three-year grant from the Ichigo Foundation will enable our Community College Bridge Program to assist students in selecting the best community college environment, taking the appropriate courses needed for transfer, and choosing the most rewarding extracurricular activities and internships. All this will help ensure that these students have the best possible community college experience while positioning them for successful transfer to — and graduation from! — a four-year institution.

We know that reliable information about navigating community college, including how to transfer, is a game-changer when provided to students by trusted guides in a timely manner. But we shouldn’t forget another factor that’s vital for student success: improved attention to their mental-health needs. A March 2024 paper from the Community College Research Center at Columbia University, based on research involving students from low-income backgrounds at Hispanic-serving institutions, found that more than one-third reported feelings of anxiety and depression, while one-quarter reported moderate to high stress levels.

Those challenges are why KEF has brought in social work interns from Columbia School of Social Work to assist our scholars. For about 21 hours per week, each intern focuses on creating “community circles” to support students with concerns they face both before and after transferring. A top priority is helping our scholars navigate the imposter syndrome that many experience when moving from two-year to four-year institutions. Students facing challenges they haven’t encountered before often feel intense pressure. The good news is that help is available for these challenges, and our scholars say they appreciate the support they receive. But it’s essential for more colleges and student-facing organizations to take mental-health concerns seriously.

Ultimately, the persistence and success of community college transfer students depend on connecting them to essential information, resources, and support that will help them find and stay on the path to a degree. I hope policymakers and campus leaders will bear in mind that a broad set of efforts is required to truly help these students get ahead.

Nolvia Delgado is executive director of the Kaplan Educational Foundation.