This Group is Fire: Invisible Labor in a Successful, Coequitable Community College–University Transfer Partnership

Abstract

In this critical case study, we explored invisible labor, work that is essential but essentially unrecognized, within a successful community college–university transfer partnership selected for its equitable characteristics. Our analysis of semi-structured interviews with eight partnership contributors revealed five distinct but connected invisible labor categories: orienting to transfer students, sharing individual resources, sharing institutional resources, communicating and coordinating, and cultivating a transfer-receptive culture. Study findings suggested that invisible labor in this context is categorically messy, subjective, highly relational, and instrumental in establishing and maintaining a successful coequitable transfer partnership. We concluded with implications for practice in the form of questions for readers, with remarks drawn from our data analysis. We strongly encourage readers to respond to these questions within their local contexts as they work to create and sustain coequitable transfer partnerships.