Examining the educational and employment outcomes of reverse credit transfer

Reverse credit transfer (RCT) is an emerging policy designed to award<br>associate’s degrees post-transfer to students who transfer from 2-year<br>to 4-year colleges. The purpose of this study is to estimate the<br>relationship between RCT degree receipt and students’ university and<br>labor outcomes using data from Texas, which mandated in 2011 that<br>public colleges engage in RCT. We find that post-transfer associate’s<br>degree recipients are significantly more likely to persist and attain in<br>universities compared to their peers who were eligible for RCT but did<br>not receive the degree. However, we find limited evidence of additional<br>benefit of the associate’s degree on labor outcomes once the effect on<br>increased baccalaureate attainment is accounted for. We suggest this<br>may be caused by the fact that the majority of associate’s degrees<br>awarded through RCT are academic or transfer-oriented degrees rather<br>than degrees with greater alignment to the labor market. <br>