Agreement to Ease Transfer from Community Colleges to UL System Universities

Agreement to Ease Transfer from Community Colleges to UL System Universities – Jan 9, 2004

BATON ROUGE, La. – An agreement signed today will make it easier for Louisiana students to obtain a four-year college degree by easing the transfer from community colleges to the University of Louisiana System’s eight universities.

The agreement by the presidents of the UL System and the Louisiana Community and Technical College System will make it possible for students with certain associate degrees to transfer to UL System universities and enter as third-year students.

Although individual UL System universities have initiated such agreements with individual community colleges, this is the first such agreement that covers the whole system.

“This is part of our effort to think from the point of view of students. We have to do everything in our power to increase students’ access to success, and that means helping them to achieve a four-year degree,” UL System President Sally Clausen said. “Working more closely with our burgeoning community college system, we can increase the numbers of Louisianans and particularly first-generation students who graduate from universities. That will make a tremendous difference in the quality of life in Louisiana.”

LCTCS President Walter Bumphus said the geographic locations of UL System universities and the growing number of community colleges will make it possible for even more students to earn a bachelor’s degree.

“Our community colleges are in the same regions of the state as UL System institutions. That proximity means more access to a four-year degree for students in our seven community colleges and two technical community colleges across the state,” he said. “It’s what the citizens of our state, most importantly our students, want.”

The UL System’s eight universities are Grambling State University, Louisiana Tech University, McNeese State University, Nicholls State University, Northwestern State University, Southeastern Louisiana University, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

Community college students will be able to transfer with Junior standing into these universities once they have completed degree programs for the Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts, Associate of Science, and Associate of General Studies. Students will have to meet universities’ transfer standards for admission and the college or department standards for transfer admission.

Higher Education Commissioner E. Joseph Savoie called the agreement a “major step toward making transfers possible statewide.”

Louisiana’s Master Plan for Public Secondary Education encourages such partnerships between community colleges and universities. Also, public interest groups such as the Council for a Better Louisiana and the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana have tied the effort to the state’s future economic growth.

“This strengthens our two-year, community colleges and our four-year schools. It’s hard to imagine sustained economic growth in this state without significant growth in the number of people educated and trained at much higher levels than high school,” said CABL Senior Vice President Stephanie Desselle.

Note: A picture of the signing and the transfer agreement are attached to this press release on the UL System website (www.ulsystem.net).

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