By Gabrielle Fitzgerald
Now is that hectic time at the college of figuring out spring class schedules and university transfer information. Many students find the transfer process rather confusing; with a whole wall of transfer guide lists displayed behind the enrollment desks in the Student Center.
“For many years, the two-year college students have not had as much success transferring credits to the universities as they should,” said Terry Calaway, college president. “As a matter of fact, there was a study done…about three or four years ago…and they identified Kansas as having the worst articulation system in the country.”
Calaway said there are various reasons for this problem, including possible discrepancies in textbooks or university professors changing their textbooks and number of credit hours during a semester. However, he said some schools simply cannot afford to let junior colleges copy their classes.
“We’ve had faculty at the University of Kansas who … had taught in the information and technology area and said to us that their basic introductory course is where they generate all their lab fees, and if we would mirror a course to the course that they have, they would just change theirs because they can’t lose the revenue,” Calaway said.
However, Calaway said the Kansas Board of Regents is going to do something about this transfer and articulation problem. That is why the Board has created a subcommittee called the Transfer and Articulation Advisory Council which has two sets of goals.
“The long-term goal is to establish a form or a platform to address difficult issues involving transfer and articulation issues,” said Fred Logan, Board of Regents representative and Council member. “The shorter-term goal is to identify a minimum of 45 hours of general education core courses that would be automatically transferable.”
Logan said the council is working toward these objectives in phase. The goal is to have this set of 45 transferable hours in place by December 2012.
“We’re on an aggressive schedule,” said Gary Alexander, vice president for academic affairs on the Board of Regents. “We were asked to present to the Board in January, in next June and by December of 2012 the Board’s resolution says it will approve outcomes for general education core courses.”
The council has a few problems that they will need to overcome in creating this new transfer and articulation policy.
“There’s been some push back from the faculty at the universities because they feel like they’re losing control,” Calaway said. “It’s really about who’s in charge.”
Calaway said the Kansas Board of Regents is in charge, and if the issue is not taken care of, the legislature is likely to step in.
Alexander said he feels optimistic about the new policy.
“I’m all for it,” Alexander said. “My feelings are extremely positive about it. I think that we have an excellent team working on the council, and they’re committed to making it work, and we are working on something that’s important to the students of the state.”
“It’s your time, your effort, your money that we’re…working for,” Calaway said. “That’s why we’re doing this. It’s in the best interest of our students.”
Contact Gabrielle Fitzgerald, reporting correspondent, at gfitzge1@stumail.jccc.edu.