Nathaniel Grove

Nathaniel Grove, chemistry professor at UNCW and director of the Center for the Support of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, has been selected as one of three University of North Carolina System Faculty Fellows for 2024, according to a news release.

Grove will join Audrey Jaeger from N.C. State University and Delma Ramos from the University of North Carolina Greensboro in researching ways to improve transfer student access and success at public universities in North Carolina. Jaeger is the W. Dallas Herring Distinguished Professor and executive director of the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research. Ramos is an associate professor and doctoral program director in the UNCG Department of Teacher Education and Higher Education.

According to the release, the 2024 faculty fellows will focus on improving, supporting and sustaining student transfer access and success, which is "a critical issue as universities grapple with changing demographics and enrollment declines nationally."

Grove stated in the release, “Student success is our top priority as an institution, and better understanding the experiences of our transfer students—a population that makes up about 40 percent of the UNCW undergraduate students — is so important. I look forward to learning more about those experiences and adding to the conversation."

Groves has been a faculty member with UNCW’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry for 14 years and is the former Faculty Senate President.

"Nationwide, 80% of students at community colleges enter with the intention to transfer and earn a bachelor’s degree, according to national data from the Community College Research Center at Columbia University," the release stated. "Within five years, however, only 25% of those same students transfer to a four-year college, and only 17% earn a bachelor’s degree within six years of transferring."

In 2017, the U.S. Government Accountability Office published research showing that students lost an average of 43% of their credits when they transferred from one institution to the next, according to the release.

These are credible and compelling data, but there is no information available that speaks directly to the transfer landscape in North Carolina, said David English, senior vice president for academic affairs and chief academic officer at the University of North Carolina System, in the release.

“This is a perfect example of how the faculty fellows program helps us address real challenges while also offering our world-class faculty an opportunity to collaborate and apply their research Systemwide,” English said in the release. “I’m grateful to this group for their willingness to address the student transfer issue in a way that provides meaningful information to our institutions.”

The fellows will access institutional-level data from public and private institutions in North Carolina, according to the release. They will also conduct interviews, focus groups and surveys to provide insights into the transfer student experience.

The release stated, "In addition to their research, the fellows will help to draft policies, regulations and guidelines that will influence student transfer programs across the state."