Transferring (Schools) the Right WayLast week, I visited with two students who were transferring from a community college to a university. Both knew what Bachelor’s degree they intended to graduate with, and did what they thought they should to ensure the transferability of all their coursework to their degrees. Unfortunately, both did it the wrong way, and between them, they lost 31 credit hours in the transfer. Although, I wouldn’t say that these students’ experience is the norm, it is all too common.
One student thought she had done exactly what she needed to – having asked repeatedly if all the courses she was taking counted toward her Associate’s degree and whether they “transferred”. The other student had a friend who had transferred to the same school a couple of semesters earlier, and had “lost” several hours, so she just expected to lose hours. Both of the students could have lost fewer hours, possibly none (by “lost” hours, I mean courses that don’t count toward the Bachelor’s). In my view, if a student knows what Bachelor’s degree they intend to graduate with, and from what school they intend to graduate, there is no reason to “lose” ANY credit hours at all. “What about counting toward an Associate’s?”, you ask. Associate’s degrees are valuable in their own right, and many students plan to attain one, whether as a part of a Bachelor’s or not. But it is important to remember that courses taken toward an associate’s may or may not count toward a Bachelor’s. Your state may have a policy requiring some portion of courses taken toward an Associate’s degree to count toward a Bachelor’s degree. That policy may vary greatly from what is communicated between students. So students need to educate themselves and be active in their academic advisement. A friend who is an administrator at a community college reminded me that it is the student’s responsibility to notify their community college advisor that they plan to later earn a Bachelor’s, and where, if known. If a student knows their destination school and major, and they are attending a community college SOLELY to save money, the ONLY person whose opinion counts in the ‘should I take this class?’ sweepstakes, is the academic advisor at the destination school. Once you know what is required for the Bachelor’s, you have something to take to your community college. If it doesn’t count toward the Bachelor’s, don’t take it. If you ask, though, you might get some flexibility from the community college in counting alternative courses taken for this reason. Of course, if an Associate’s is one of your goals, if it’s required to receive a certain scholarship or for admission to a certain program, or for other reasons, courses that count toward that degree have great value. You just have to know what you’re taking, and why. Then you need to not be upset with your destination school when they don’t count all your credits toward your Bachelor’s. Back to Articles List |
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