B1003 Transfer Programming

Policy Statement

As identified in the College purpose statement, transfer programming is an essential service that prepares students for the first two years of a baccalaureate education.

Students receive value by engaging in the College’s transfer courses and degrees designed to prepare them for the first two years of a baccalaureate education.  Students benefit when upper division colleges and universities accept transfer courses and degrees as elective credit. Students receive greater value when upper division colleges and universities accept completed courses and degrees as major-specific credit.  Moreover, students receive the greatest benefit when SCC courses and degrees align with the major requirements found at upper division colleges and universities through clearly defined articulation agreements, which clarify the transfer pathway, reduce time spent obtaining advanced degrees, and potentially limit student loan debt. 

To achieve these benefits, the Board directs the President to establish, deliver, and continuously improve transfer courses, programs, and agreements.

Key Monitoring Activities:

As it relates to the key performance areas noted in the Monitoring College Effectiveness policy, the Board is interested in student interest, enrollment, academic success, transfer readiness, completion, and deployment. 

The measures and indicators suggested below are advisory in nature and are intended to provide the President with a broad range of ideas as to what the Board might find helpful as it monitors the College’s progress on the key performance areas for this Strategic Outcome.  The President, at their discretion, can modify the measures and indicators as needed.

Specific measures for student interest may include data that illustrates how students access transfer pathways.  Potential indicators might include the number of articulation agreements, including 2+2 and 3+1 arrangements, available to students. 

Articulation agreement deletions, additions, and revisions to existing agreements could be noted.

Specific measures for enrollment may include data that reflects credit-hours, FTE, and headcount of students taking transfer courses.  Data aggregated by student demographic profiles is appropriate.  Potential indicators might identify the average credit load by semester; number of students participating in early college programs; number of students participating in dual enrollment courses; and/or average credits earned by semester for transfer students.

Specific measures for academic success may include data that reflects student learning outcome attainment and student performance in transfer courses.  Potential indicators might identify the percentage of students who pass a transfer course with a grade of C or better and percentage of students who receive a D, F, or W in transfer courses.

Specific measures for transfer readiness may include data that describes how students matriculate to upper division colleges and universities.  Potential indicators might describe the percentage of courses transferred as equivalent and the percentage of courses transferred as elective. 

Specific measures for completion may include data that describes student graduation rates, completion rates, and credentials awarded.  Potential indicators might describe the percentage of degree-seeking students who enrolled at an upper division college or university within 3 years of initial enrollment at SCC and/or the average number of credits earned in a transfer degree at SCC.

Specific measures for deployment may include data in the measures of curriculum management and scheduling effectiveness, including breadth of courses, percentage of courses offered in multiple timeframes/formats, number of students who access courses from off-campus locations, the average number of sections per course, average enrollment per course, and average enrollment per section.