College Credit Transfer System Makes Higher Education More Affordable, Accessible

There are a lot of reasons people don’t graduate college in four years, and most of them don’t include booze or bong loads. More often than not, a year at a community college turns into wasted time as student credits are lost in bureaucratic limbo. But now, just one year into a new credit transfer system, Pennsylvania students have saved $35.4 million.

In 2006, Governor Rendell signed into law Act 114, which required all community colleges and PASSHE schools to identify a minimum of 30 credits that would be guaranteed to transfer between schools. Repeating courses at state universities costs students and taxpayers. But with transferable credits available at 32 state institutions, students spend more time in the classroom and less time at the finance office.

“There has been a change in who is seeking college education. College students are becoming more mobile,” says PA Department of Education spokesperson Leah Harris. “We found a need to put a system in place to protect those students from having to pay thousands and thousands of dollars for having to take a course at one institution and again at another.”

As part of the new law, the state established the Pennsylvania Transfer and Articulation Center (PA TRAC) website. The site allows users to search for transferable courses, find information about participating institutions and get step-by-step instructions to transfer credits. The site also keeps real-time reporting data to determine the effectiveness of the software. The program has been a success, saving more money than originally thought, as some schools have created more transferable offerings than the law originally required.

Software guidance systems manufacturers AcademyOne designed the software, which can facilitate up to 30 credits at a time. The West Chester firm believes this software could help correct a growing problem, as six out of 10 students nationwide attend more than one college on a path to their degree.

“AcademyOne manages a national site, CollegeTransfer.net. In Pennsylvania, we used the functionality of that site but worked closely with the state and individual institutions to focus on content so there was no confusion, ” says AcademyOne Vice President Karen Todd. “Now the students will have all the information so they can avoid taking a course that won’t count. It’s a real joy!”

Sources: Leah Harris, PA Department of Education
Karen Todd, AcademyOne
Writer: John Steele