Truth and fiction about the intercollege transfer rate

Last week, information about the transfer rate between the Pratt School of Engineering and Trinity College appeared on these pages, becoming fodder for campus discussion. While a number of issues important to students considering a major in engineering were raised, we disagree with the conclusions and many of the "facts" presented. Thus, we would like to take this opportunity to address the issues and clarify several points.

First, it is not true in a Chronicle article last week that transfers from Pratt to Trinity are increasing. Recently compiled data show, for example, that approximately 20 percent of the Class of 2008 (admitted to Pratt in 2004) transferred to Trinity, and that this number changed only negligibly to 21 percent for the Class of 2009. These rates are about half of what they were a decade ago (for example, for the class of 2001, the rate was 39 percent). Second, there seemed to be an undercurrent in the article suggesting that transfer from Trinity to Pratt is relatively rare and quite difficult to do. The numbers do not support this conclusion either. In fact, for the class of 2009, our projections show that fully 10 percent of the Pratt graduating class will have begun their Duke careers in Trinity college.

This rate is typical of the past few Pratt graduating classes. Since the "Pratt-to-Trinity" transfer rate has dropped by a factor of two, and the rate of "Trinity to Pratt" transfer has more than doubled over the past decade, we now have "net" attrition rates for each Pratt class in the 10 to 15 percent range. This compares extremely well with a national average of about 50 percent attrition for engineering schools, and is a tribute to our faculty who have worked hard to revise the curriculum and add more hands-on learning experiences. These include the very popular Pratt Research Fellows program, featuring a model for sustained research experiences being adopted by many units in Trinity. The Duke administration and generous donors have invested heavily in a new physical plant for the Pratt School, and helped increase our enrollment and faculty size from about 70 faculty in 2000, to nearly 100 in 2007. As a result of these efforts, our student/faculty ratio has gone down, and the quality of our educational programs has dramatically improved, resulting in a decrease in transfer rate.

Having clarified the true situation with the transfer rate, we know that in fact it will never be zero-in either direction. Dean Michele Rasmussen and her colleagues in the Pre-Major Advising Center have worked extremely closely and effectively with our advising staff in Pratt to be sure that students with potential interests in both Trinity and Pratt are thoroughly supported, and given the flexibility to find the course of study appropriate for them. The numbers above show that students can accomplish intercollege transfers and enjoy highly productive and rewarding Duke careers afterward. Our job as administrators and faculty is to foster the best intellectual atmosphere for such exploration to happen. Many recently initiated activities, including Engineering Focus, the Rebuilding from Ruins service learning course, and the newly enhanced Duke in Berlin program, represent true collaborations between Pratt and Trinity, designed to create ways in which our students can engage in substantive scholarship together for mutual benefit. We need to keep our focus on the creation of such environments and opportunities, and discard the stereotypes of our respective colleges that are of little use in reaching our scholarly goals.

Kristina Johnson is dean of the Pratt School of Engineering. Tod Laursen is senior associate dean for education in Pratt.