 “Even though the classes I took transferred, the credits didn’t count towards my major,” White explains. While trying to juggle the demands of raising her son and working full time as a business consultant, the last thing White wanted to do was repeat several classes. “I felt like I had wasted time and money. I had straight A’s at Capital, so I already knew the material. It wasn’t worth paying thousands of dollars to retake the classes.” After changing her major to accounting, White plans on graduating from Central this December, and currently has a 3.89 GPA. However, she wishes the process had gone more smoothly. For future students, it will. Thanks to a historic memorandum of understanding between the Connecticut State University System (CSUS) and the Connecticut Community College (CCC) System, students just like White who transfer each year between the CCC and the Central, Eastern, Southern and Western Connecticut State universities are on their way to an easier, seamless transition.
Transfers from community colleges accounted for about 14 percent of new students enrolling in 2005 at CSUS’s universities. Overall, 61 percent of CSUS students transfer from other Connecticut institutions, with two-thirds of those transferring from community colleges. For the fall 2006 semester, just over 1,100 students transferred from one of Connecticut’s 12 Community Colleges to one of the four CSUS universities. The memorandum is the result of initial discussions between the chancellors of the two largest systems of public higher education in Connecticut, David G. Carter of the CSUS and Marc S. Herzog of the CCCs, and pursuit by a committee of college and university presidents. It was signed by the chancellors along with all twelve college and four university presidents at a March 29 ceremony in the Old Judiciary Room at the State Capitol. “Our efforts are driven by a desire to enhance educational opportunities for students throughout Connecticut and ease their transition at every step along the education continuum, from preschool through college and beyond,” said Chancellor Carter, who emphasized that the CSUS Board of Trustees has consistently made the issue a top priority. The memorandum moves the systems forward in establishing guiding principles that will streamline the process for students from any of Connecticut’s twelve community colleges interested in continuing their educations beyond the associate degree (2-year) level in transferring to the institutions within the Connecticut State University System. The principles established in the agreement will guide the collaborative efforts between the colleges and the universities in developing guaranteed admission agreements that will apply to all twelve community colleges and allow a community college student, prior to completing 15 credits of coursework, to apply for guaranteed admission to Central, Eastern, Southern and Western Connecticut State universities. Upon completing an associate’s degree, within a maximum of five years, with a 2.0 average, the student will be able to transfer a minimum of 60 credits to enter a university as a junior or thirdyear student, as long as the transfer takes place within two years of the completion of the associate degree. Transfer students must complete the general education requirements of the receiving institution, but will be able to transfer as many as 36 general education credits in eight discipline areas including Humanities, History and Science. An oversight committee, with representatives of both college and university systems, will meet periodically to make recommendations for improvement of the agreements and to establish a process for review of admissions and appeals practices in general and in individual cases.
According to Chancellor Herzog, “At a time when more and more Connecticut students are looking for educational opportunities, expanded knowledge and a competitive advantage in the global economy, institutions of higher education, especially public higher education, must collaborate to meet these expectations and to support student success. “Community Colleges have always been committed to meeting students at their level of need; today we must continue to meet their needs and prepare them to meet the needs of society and the economy,” Herzog continued. “Curricula pathways, transfer agreements and guaranteed admissions to baccalaureate institutions will allow students to access higher education at the community college level, to continue at advanced levels without delay or duplication, and to achieve a better quality of life for themselves and their families.” It is not the first time that such efforts have been initiated, and there are a number of program-specific articulation agreements in place throughout the system. The new agreement, however, initiates a collaborative process that will bring each of the colleges and universities together to develop a system that will better serve the needs of students. It is the difference, some have suggested, between what’s good on paper, and what works in practice. Additionally, the signers say, it reflects an enthusiasm and commitment to following through that was often uneven in the past. “This agreement will start the communication in the schools in a formal way, even though it has been going on in an informal way for years,” remarks Sharon Braverman, assistant dean of Central Connecticut State University’s school of business. “Probably the most important piece of working together with the community colleges is the dual advising role. We already go to many of the community colleges, and the transfer counselors at those colleges set up appointments with students who want to transfer. We bring a curriculum transfer sheet, and we can help steer students into taking the right community college courses for the best possible transfer of credits.”
“This agreement between Connecticut Community Colleges and the Connecticut State University System will ensure that credits received in the Community College System will be accepted by the University System, thereby ensuring that students will not incur additional expense and the time of repeating course work.”
— Senator Joan Hartley, co-chair of the Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee
“College transfer should be a bridge built upon a foundation of consistency and excellence across our colleges. Moving college credits from a community college to one of our Connecticut State Universities should be a process that occurs with ease. Facilitating the movement of students encourages the achievement of their educational goals, saves time and valuable resources and ensures high standards and consistency within public higher education.”
— Rep. Roberta Willis, co-chair of the Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee
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