Starting in the Fall of 2008, students have been able to use the Pennsylvania College Credit Transfer System to make the transfer of college credits easier. And since then, Pennsylvania has seen a 13% increase in the number of students transferring from Pennsylvania community colleges to the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) universities and a 9% increase in the total number of credits transferred. With an average cost of $231 per credit hour, the credits transferred in 2009 alone have saved students nearly $34.5 million in "credit transfer taxes," i.e. the cost of having to repeat a course not accepted for transfer by the student's new college.

www.patrac.org

www.sctrac.org

The South Carolina Commission on Higher Education has awarded a multi-year contract to AcademyOne, Inc. to improve college transfer and articulation in South Carolina. AcademyOne will develop a South Carolina electronic web portal to assist students and support college and university staff with tools that make it easier to transfer credit and evaluate how prior coursework will transfer among public South Carolina colleges and universities. In May of 2008, Pennsylvania launched a custom e-portal developed by AcademyOne to improve credit transfer among its higher education institutions.

Years ago, transferring academic credit from one educational institution to another was a pretty straightforward transaction. However, the education world has changed. Today, students may earn academic credits at four or five different institutions before completing their degree. Nontraditional schools now offer credits and degrees. And, with the convenience of earning legitimate credits via the Internet, the amount of credit transfer has exploded. Unfortunately for students seeking to transfer their previous work, the culture of credit transfer at some traditional colleges and universities has not kept pace with the rapid changes with today’s mobile students. Many universities still insist that they will accept academic credits or degrees only from institutions that are regionally accredited. The culture of “regionally accredited only” can lead to frustration for students who choose to earn their credits at nationally accredited institutions, such as those accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the DETC. Until the traditional higher education community comes into compliance with the national calls for a more open system, we have developed this Student’s Guide to Transfer of Credit as a helpful road map through the transfer maze.

While American community colleges are highly regarded for providing access to higher education for many students, especially those from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds, many of those students never make significant progress in earning a baccalaureate degree. In order to do so, they must successfully transfer to a four-year institution. For decades, policymakers and educators have been concerned about the low numbers who make that transition successfully. A 2003 U. S. Department of Education report notes that only about half of the community-college students who indicate a desire to transfer to a four-year institution eventually succeed. An earlier report from the American Council on Education pegged the transfer rate at about a quarter of potential students. The number of students “lost” in the transfer process represents both a waste of individual talent and a failure of America’s higher-education establishment.

This guide is based on the simple principle that if you have a clear understanding of your military transcript and basic information about transfer policies and issues, you can more successfully navigate your way through the process of transfer credit for military training and experience. This publication will serve as your resource for understanding military credit recommendations, transcripts, and their use when you wish to transfer to an academic institution.

The following set of guidelines has been developed by the three national associations whose member institutions are directly involved in the transfer and award of academic credit: the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, the American Council on Education, and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

Here is an incredible compendium of insights and direction from the Bologna Process of European higher education reconstruction. This process is highly relevant and has much to offer the U.S efforts and discussions around transfer of credit, adult and experiential learning, prior learning assessment and critical work force development issues.

Especially relevant are Section 3 – regarding the “Tuning” model for outcomes frameworks and Section 4 - the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).

Written by Clifford Adelman, Senior Associate, Institute for Higher Education Policy(IHEP) in an accessible tone that is conducive to policy discussions and informing reform efforts.

American community colleges have served as a beacon of postsecondary access for those less likely to attend college for over a century. The mission statements of virtually every community college includes its role in the transfer function – allowing students to begin college at the two-year institution to be followed by transfer to a four-year college or university. Thus, a major role of community colleges is that of an “access bridge” to other levels of postsecondary education. Despite an apparent emphasis on transfer within the community colleges, the transfer rates of students remain problematically low.

Nearly half of all undergraduate students are enrolled in community colleges—and that percentage is on the rise.1 Among them are millions of full-time students, many from low-income families and most of traditional college age (18-24).2 For these students, a community college education can open doors to opportunity, including serving as a gateway to a four-year degree. Yet many doors remain closed to even the most talented low-income community college students. Nowhere are these limitations more apparent than in the limited opportunity community college students are granted to transfer to the country’s most selective four-year institutions. Top community college students struggle against the mistaken perception by some college administrators and others that these students cannot succeed at elite institutions. They also face cultural and economic barriers to completing their bachelor’s degrees.

Almost half of students enrolled in public colleges attend two-year institutions, whose role in expanding access to higher education continues to increase even as financial support for the institutions fails to keep up with student demand. Not all community college students start out with the goal of earning a bachelor’s degree, but even for those who do, the path is laden with obstacles.