Community college students who transfer to four-year colleges and universities may face challenges as they transition to their new educational institution.
In order to help ease these issues, Ursuline College in Pepper Pike is one of 14 independent colleges and universities in Ohio that will join a new program called the Ohio Consortium for Transfer Pathways to the Liberal Arts. It begins in September.
The consortium is funded by a grant from the Teagle Foundation and Arthur Vining Davis Foundation. Each participating school is a member of the national Council of Independent Colleges, which announced the grant.
The 14 participating Ohio colleges and universities are working in coordination with 10 community colleges throughout the state to establish pathways to baccalaureate degrees in English, psychology and biology for community college students.
The consortium will address some of the most challenging barriers faced by students transferring from community colleges to four-year institutions, including a lack of comprehensive advising and credit loss in the transition between schools.
“Losing credits during the transfer process can have consequences for students,” said Richard Ekman, CIC president. “Not only does taking extra classes cost more and add to student debt, but it also can increase students’ time-to-degree or even lower their chances of graduating at all.”
Curricular templates for each of the three majors will alleviate credit loss and reduce the confusion and anxiety surrounding many transfer decisions so students can focus on their goal of graduating with a bachelor’s degree.
“We look forward to working with this consortium on ways to provide students with clear paths to Ursuline degrees in English, psychology and biology. Ursuline already has partnerships with Northeast Ohio community colleges,” said Sister Christine De Vinne, OSU, Ursuline College president. “This new effort will strengthen those ties and open new opportunities for student to succeed with us.”
Participating community colleges in Northeast Ohio include Cuyahoga Community College, Lakeland Community College, Lorain County Community College and Stark State College.
Participating CIC member institutions are Ashland University, Baldwin Wallace University, Bluffton University, Capital University, Defiance College, Denison University, Hiram College, Lourdes University, Malone University, Muskingum University, Ohio Dominican University, Ohio Weslyan University, Tiffin University and Ursuline College.