College Transfer Mission of

Community Collegesin the United States

Presented by:Dr. Sharon Morrissey

Vice Chancellor for Academic Services and Research

Vice Chancellor for Academic Services and ResearchVirginia Community College System

GREETINGS!

from Governor Terry McAuliffe

COMMUNITY COLLEGESIN THE U.S.

1,200 community colleges in the U.S. In 2014,

42% of all US undergraduate students enrolled in community colleges (about 10 million students)

HISTORY OF COMMUNITY COLLEGES

Who Are Community College Students?Curricular Function ofCommunity

Colleges

Non-creditcontinuingeducation

RemedialEducation

Englishas a SecondLanguage

High School Equivalency for adults who did not complete high school

Academic Transfer (Associate in Arts & Associate in Science)

Vocational -Technical(certificates & associate in applied science)

Who Are Community College Students?Who are community

college students?

More likely to be

1st generationCollege student

COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTCHARACTERISTICS

More likely to be from under-represented minority & economically disadvantaged populations

COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTCHARACTERISTICS

More likely to be older than traditional age college students

COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTCHARACTERISTICS

More likely to attend

part-time

COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTCHARACTERISTICS

Why Do Students Choose Community Colleges????

Benefits of starting at a Community College

Access

AffordabilityRemediation

Smaller class sizes

Open access: Most programs do not have selective admissions criteria

Remediation: For students with academic deficiencies (not college-ready)

Cost: Community college tuition is affordable — in Virginia, 1/3 of university tuition

Community College

Fall 2015 –350,000 undergraduate students in public community colleges and universities

177,000 were enrolled in community collegesalone

COMMUNITY COLLEGES

PRIVATE UNIVERSITIESPUBLIC UNIVERSITIES

Associate of Arts and Associate of Science

are the two typical transfer degree

pathways

A Typical baccalaureate degreeLower Division• 1st two years• General education courses

designed to provide student with breadth and depth of general knowledge

• Lower-division prerequisites, if required, for student’s intended program major

• 100 and 200 level course numbers

Upper Division (Major)• 2nd two years• Higher-level majors courses and

internships that prepare students for the career field or further study

• 300 and 400 level course numbers

Typical College Transfer Program MajorsAssociate of Arts

• Visual and Performing Arts

• Liberal Arts

Associate of Science• Business Administration

• Engineering

• Science

• Social Science

• Computer Science

Transfer Outcomes in VirginiaIn Virginia, 14,208 students transferred from community colleges to public universities in 2009-2010

71% of transfer students complete

baccalaureate degrees within 3 to

5 years post-transfer

Nearly 1/2

of Virginia’s bachelor’s degree completers

in 2015 earned credit from a community

college

More diverse student

population

Fill vacant seats

in upper division classes

Financial

Gain

Benefits for Universities

What Makes Transfer Work?What MakesTransfers Work?

Policy Supports for College Transfer• US Department of Education

Definition of a Credit Hour• Transfer Based on Course Equivalency

• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

• Quality Assurance

Virginia-Specific Policy Supports• Virginia Guaranteed Admission

Legislation

• Virginia College Transfer Grant

• State Council for Higher Education in VA• Policy, Research and Evaluation

Faculty Engagement• Curricular alignment

• Curriculum pathways

• Advising Support

CHALLENGES

Course Alignment

Credit Transfer

MultipleGuaranteed AdmissionsAgreementPrerequisit

es for the major

Increase number of

baccalaureate completers

Save money

for the state (community

college education costs the state

less)

VALUE of college transfer

Celebrating 50 yearsServing the community©2017 VCCS Student Success Center