Thursday, August 27, 2009

REPORT URGES CALIFORNIA TO EASE COMMUNITY COLLEGE TRANFER PROCESS

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Written by: Michelle Cormier | Industry Update from the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.

Published: 08/27/2009

 

According to a report published by the Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Policy at California State University at Sacramento, California community colleges need to adopt a more standardized statewide system of student transfer if it is to produce enough college graduates to fill its work force. The study notes that there will be 1 million more jobs for college graduates in California than there are degree-holders by the year 2025.

The report found that the state's higher education system, which includes 110 community colleges, suffers from a hodgepodge of transfer policies that make it difficult for students to accumulate the right coursework and fulfill all the requirements for degree completion.

Although there have been previous efforts to address the problem, including legislation, campus-based initiatives and task forces, the report's authors argue that comprehensive, statewide reform is essential.

The study contains a series of recommendations based on an examination of policies in states that are more successful in transferring students. For example, the report calls for the creation of associate degrees specifically for transfer students that would fulfill the basic requirements for all California colleges and universities, and guarantee transfer of all credits earned in certain courses.

Other recommendations include establishing a standardized general-education checklist of courses that would allow transfer to all of the state's public four-year institutions, and creating a degree-audit system so students and counselors could easily check whether they are meeting the requirements.

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