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Strengthening Transfer

In July 2011, the College Board released, Improving Transfer from Community Colleges to Four-Year Institutions: The Perspective of Leaders from Baccalaureate-Granting Institutions. Incorporating the insights from higher education leaders at a dozen four-year colleges and universities, this report presents a series of recommendations designed to strengthen the transfer process between community colleges and four-year institutions.

Although the transfer pathway has been an important part of the higher education landscape for over 100 years, it has never achieved its full potential in providing access to the bachelor’s degree for many students, especially those from underserved groups. Compared to community colleges, relatively little attention has been paid to the role of four-year institutions in creating a more efficient transfer process. Yet public and private four-year institutions are responsible for admitting students from community colleges, evaluating and accepting course credit, and awarding financial aid. Without properly consulting with the institutions that award the baccalaureate degree, the transfer process can never function in a way that supports the nation’s need for an educated citizenry.

In this report, higher education leaders at some this nation’s most selective and/or popular four-year institutions were interviewed — and it is their voices you will hear throughout this report (see list of participants below). These leaders have expertise in all facets of institutional administration, including outreach and recruitment, admission and enrollment, financial aid, and student and academic affairs. Their institutions consist of public and private colleges and universities, public flagship and smaller institutions, and highly selective and moderately selective universities.

By highlighting the often neglected perspective of four-year institution leaders who are committed to serving community college students, Improving Student Transfer from Community Colleges to Four-Year Institutions: The Perspective of Leaders from Baccalaureate-Granting Institutions fills an important gap in the national debate about the pivotal role that the transfer pathway will play in providing access to higher education, while addressing the degree production needs of this nation.

Read the Report:  

Requires Adobe Reader (latest version recommended).

Higher Education Leaders Interviewed for this Report

  • Frank Ashley, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, The Texas A&M University System–College Station
  • Gail Berson, Dean of Admission and Student Aid, Vice President for Enrollment, Wheaton College, Norton, Mass.
  • Timothy E. Brunold, Dean of Admission, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
  • Youlonda Copeland-Morgan, Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management and Director of Scholarships and Financial Aid, Syracuse University, New York
  • Marc Cutright, Director of the Center for Higher Education and Associate Professor of Higher Education, University of North Texas–Denton
  • Laura Doering, Senior Associate Registrar and Director of Transfer Relations, Iowa State University–Ames
  • Stephen M. Farmer, Associate Provost and Director of Admission, The University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill
  • Karen Francis-Begay, Special Advisor to the President on Native American Affairs, The University of Arizona–Tucson
  • Marc Harding, Assistant Vice President for Enrollment and Director of Admissions, Iowa State University–Ames
  • Kim Harves, Senior Assistant Director, Office of Undergraduate Admissions, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
  • Alfred Herrera, Assistant Vice Provost and Director of the Center for Community College Partnerships, University of California–Los Angeles
  • Bonita Jacobs, Executive Director, National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students and Associate, Professor in Higher Education, University of North Texas–Denton
  • Mildred R. Johnson, Director of Undergraduate Admissions, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg
  • Jerome A. Lucido, Research Professor of Education and Executive Director, USC Center for Enrollment Research, Policy, and Practice, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
  • Camille Martinez-Yaden, Director, Undergraduate Teacher Preparation and Graduate Educational Leadership Training, Project Native III, University of Arizona–Tucson and Tohono O’odham Community College–Sells
  • Patricia McWade, Dean of Student Financial Aid Services, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
  • Colleen K. Miltenberg, Assistant Director, Office of Undergraduate Admissions, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
  • Janina Montero, Vice Chancellor — Student Affairs, University of California–Los Angeles
  • Angela Peterson, Associate Vice President for Regional Campuses, University of Central Florida–Orlando
  • Mark Allen Poisel, Associate Vice President for Student Development and Enrollment Services, University of Central Florida–Orlando
  • Kasey Urquidez, Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Admission, The University of Arizona–Tucson

Contact

The College Board’s National Office of Community College Initiatives
Stephen J. Handel
Email: shandel@collegeboard.org