Because of the rise in education costs or inability to meet admission requirements at four-year institutions, many students begin their postsecondary education at two-year institutions as an accessible and affordable alternative to four-year colleges or universities. Many of these students use a two-year institution as a “stepping stone” to subsequently transfer to a four-year institution. This study provides empirical data on the academic performance of accounting students enrolled at a liberal arts undergraduate college in the Northeast United States over a four-year period. This study provides further evidence that community college students who subsequently transferred to an accounting program at a four-year institution earned statistically significant lower grades in Intermediate Accounting I, Cost Accounting and Advanced Accounting courses in comparison to their native student counterparts. These results confirm that transfer students in accounting may need academic and social support services to ease the transition from the community college environment to the academic and campus community of a four-year institution.
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