Smoothing Pathways to Transfer in the Humanities: A Report on the Strengthening Michigan Humanities Project

This report describes the rationale, goals, and activities of the Strengthening Michigan Humanities (MiHumanities) project, an effort led by the Michigan Community College Association (MCCA) and funded by the Mellon Foundation. The project is designed to strengthen community college transfer pathways in four humanities fields—communication, English, history, and theater—by identifying and using promising strategies to connect community college students to programs of study in these areas and by increasing coordination and curricular alignment between two- and four-year institutions. The authors analyze state administrative data collected by the Michigan Education Data Center to present statistics and trends in community college student course enrollments, transfer, and bachelor’s degree completion in a wide array of humanities fields, including the four Strengthening MiHumanities disciplines, and the liberal arts. They also summarize findings from interviews with faculty, staff, and students to highlight promising approaches to strengthening humanities transfer outcomes. An infographic on measures that illustrate the opportunities and challenge of Michigan transfer in the humanities is available inside the report and as a separate document.