Many policies and procedures that are in place at both two-year and four-year institutions don’t take into account the demographics of contemporary students. In the report titled “Expanding Pathways to College Enrollment and Degree Attainment, Policies and Reforms for a Diverse Population,” Ithaka S+R provides suggestions on how states can examine their higher education landscape and be more effective in meeting students’ needs.
“Systems that may work well for [traditional] students won’t necessarily work well for a working adult who’s taking classes in the evenings or someone who is returning to school after years or may have family obligations outside of their coursework,” said Dr. James Dean Ward, one of the authors of the report. “In this brief, we try to highlight some of the ways in which state policy makers can step forward and facilitate both getting into and then through degree programs for these students who may have a different trajectory.”
A persistent issue is transferring credits from one institution to another. The report notes that community college students who are able to transfer at least 90% of their credits to a four-year institution are 2.5 times more likely to graduate when compared to students who had less than half of their credits transfer. Despite that statistic, 43% of all transfer credits are not counted.
Ward also noted that many schools have autonomy in deciding which credits transfer. This autonomy may lead to mismatches between institutions, which can mean that some credits don’t transfer.
“What we suggest in this brief is that there are ways that state policy can step in and help improve the ways things are mapped,” said Ward. “If we’re thinking about larger systems of higher education—especially public systems—we should think about ways we are designing these systems so students can move through them effectively. That includes improving transfer rates and improving the ways in which credits move across institutions and will continue to count toward degree programs and general requirements.”
The report suggests simplifying transferring within a state, most notably at public institutions. Common course numbering (CCN) has shown to be effective because it helps students plan a course of study. As of 2018, 17 states had a version of CCN. However, Ward said, if the system wasn’t designed using CCN it can be a heavy administrative lift to transition to it.
Articulation agreements between community colleges and four-year institutions, such as 2+2 articulation agreements, guarantee that associate’s degree graduates from public community colleges can enter state public four-year colleges and universities as juniors. Currently versions of these agreements exist in 33 states.
