Differences between public and private institutions of higher education in the enrollment of transfer students

This paper examines the determinants of an institution's transfer enrollment for four-year institutions with a focus on differences between public and private institutions. The analysis finds that private institutions enroll a smaller share of their student body as transfers and that the gap between privates and publics grew between 1984 and 1997. In addition, private institutions decrease their share of transfer students more than publics in response to greater selectivity and decreasing attrition rates. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings for potential changes in enrollment policies at flagship public institutions.