For graduates of Lake Land College, transferring to a four-year university often means moving away from home, getting to know a new town or navigating a larger campus. But unbeknownst to many students, it can also mean attaining a higher grade point average and having better academic standing than most other students at their new institution.

The Transfer Student Report, which is prepared annually by the Lake Land College Office of Institutional Research, shows how well Lake Land College students do academically when transferring to a four-year institution. This year, the report concludes that on average, graduates of Lake Land College have higher academic achievement than both native students of an institution and transfer students from other community colleges. For purposes of the report, native students are those students who enroll at a four-year institution as a freshman.

One approach to measure the success of Lake Land College transfer students is to compare the grade point averages at each university with other community college transfers and native students. According to the report, Lake Land College graduates have higher GPAs than native students at all transfer institutions with the exception of Illinois State University. Additionally, Lake Land College transfer students perform better than other community college transfers at all institutions except Illinois State University and the University of Illinois, where Lake Land College graduates’ GPAs are marginally lower than the other community college transfers. Overall, 97 percent of Lake Land College transfer students have higher GPAs than both native students and other community college transfers.

“Lake Land College offers the highest level of education and preparation for students who do go on to four-year institutions,” said Jim Hull, vice president for academic services. “The college and its faculty and staff provide a rigorous curriculum in addition to student support services that really prepare students to succeed in the academic setting.”