Michigan Credit When It’s Due Webinar Series: Student Eligibility & Degree Requirements July 29, 2013 A Partnership between:

Overview of CWID Webinar Series  Student eligibility and degree requirements  Monday, July 29 th – 1:30 to 3:00pm  Communications with students – 8/26  Monday, August 26 th – 1:30 to 3:00 pm  University/community college partnerships  In-person meeting – Thursday, September 19 th – 9:00 to 11:00am

Topics for today's webinar: 1. Highlights from the recent OCCRL CWID webinar 2.MI CWID Survey Results on Student Eligibility a)Criteria for eligibility including minimum GPA b)Minimum number of CC credits required c)Degree requirements d)Frequency and timing of student searches e)Other responses about eligibility

Highlights from the Baseline Study Webinar on July 23, 2013 Office of Community College Research and Leadership (OCCRL) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

OCCRL Baseline Study Research Questions 1.What was the state policy context and environment for transfer prior to CWID implementation? 2.What were the estimated number of Reverse Transfer-Eligible Students in the Baseline Cohort? 3.What were the characteristics of Baseline Reverse Transfer-Eligible Students? 4.What were the post-transfer outcomes of Baseline Reverse Transfer-Eligible Students?

OCCRL Baseline Study - Reverse Transfer- Related Legislative Policies StateLegislation Summary of Legislation Related to Reverse Transfer ColoradoSenate Bill (2012) Charges the Higher Education Commission to work with 2-year and 4-year boards to develop and coordinate a reverse transfer process Requires developing a "notification process" for students who accumulate 70 credits at university and who met 2-year residency requirement Requires implementation by year Defines key contents of the notification process Florida Florida Statue (Senate Bill 478 passed in 1971) Allows students at state universities to request AA degree from the university if student completes the minimum degree requirements MarylandHouse Bill 833 (2013) College Readiness and Completion Act of 2013 Requires MHEC to work with public institutions to develop statewide reverse transfer agreement

OCCRL Baseline Study - Reverse Transfer -Related Legislative Policies (cont.) StateLegislation Summary of Legislation Related to Reverse Transfer Michigan House Bill 5372 (H-1) CR-1 Higher Education Budget FY12-13 Charges committee to develop a reverse transfer process Requires universities to participate in reverse transfer agreements with at least 3 community colleges in order to receive performance funding MissouriHouse Bill 1042 (2012) Charges the coordinating board to develop a policy to foster reverse transfer for students who have met enough hours from a public higher education institution that offers associate degrees and one public four-year institution OregonHB 3521 (2011) - "Transfer Students Bill of Rights and Responsibilities" Charges agencies to create standards for a reverse transfer process

OCCRL Baseline Study - Quantitative Data State Number of Reverse Transfer- Eligible Students Arkansas 1,057 Colorado 1,739 Florida 2,077 Hawaii1,078 Maryland3,770 Michigan3,148 Missouri2,787 New York 3,273* North Carolina1,223 Ohio3,032 Oregon2,664 Total25,848 *Number excludes approximately 3,400 students with “unreliable credit records”, meaning there was no way of knowing how many credits were received prior to transfer in Fall Recent dataset provided by NY not yet analyzed.

What were the characteristics of Baseline Reverse Transfer-Eligible Students? Baseline Reverse Transfer-Eligible Students: n=~25,848

What were the characteristics of Baseline Reverse Transfer-Eligible Students? Baseline Reverse Transfer-Eligible Students: n=~25,848

What were the post-transfer outcomes of Baseline Reverse Transfer-Eligible Students? ~47% Did NOT Complete Bachelor’s Baseline Reverse Transfer-Eligible Students: n=~25,848

What were the post-transfer outcomes of Baseline Reverse Transfer-Eligible Students? Baseline Reverse Transfer-Eligible Students: n=24,995

OCCRL Michigan Findings  5 universities: EMU, FSU, GVSU, OU, and WMU  Fall 2008 student transfers who had credits accepted at the 4-year institution from a Michigan CC but no AA/AS or higher prior to transfer  5,354 transferred from CC to 4-year  3,320 transferred without an associates degree  3,148 met residency requirement (earned >=15 credits)  83% are 18 to 24 years old  72% Pell grant recipients  82% Full-time students

OCCRL Michigan Findings (cont.) Number of credits earned prior to transfer:  <= 15:19  : 507  : 687  : 808  >60: 1,127

OCCRL Michigan Findings (cont.)  Highest degree earned at receiving institution (n = 3,148):  Bachelor’s or higher: 1,499  Associate: 48  Certificate: 2  No Degree: 1,599  Highest degree earned at any institution (n = 3,148):  Bachelor’s or higher: 1,511  Associate: 97  Certificate: 12  No Degree: 1,528

Questions?

Michigan Reverse Transfer Institutional Survey Responses on Student Eligibility

Criteria for eligibility  19 colleges and 12 universities use a minimum number of credits earned at a community college  14 colleges and 9 universities use a minimum number of credits earned at the university  1 college and 1 university use the start date at the community college  9 universities will consider students who have attended multiple CCs and 4 will not  10 universities require students to complete a reverse transfer form

Criteria for eligibility (cont.)  17 colleges and 6 universities require a minimum GPA for credits to transfer (all stated that it was 2.0 or higher except one university that requires a 3.0)  Other eligibility criteria mentioned include:  General agreement in place for universities to send names of former students  Has not already earned a degree at the community college  Enrolled in undergraduate courses at the university  In good academic standing at the university  Must be an active student or have been an active student in the last two years at the university  Does not have an outstanding financial obligation at the university  Credits being reverse transferred must meet the degree requirements

Criteria for eligibility (cont.) Key questions: 1.What are the most important criteria for eligibility? 2.Should Michigan establish common criteria?

Minimum CC credits required  There is significant variation under the agreements – 12, 15, 17, 18, 24, 25, 30, 32, 35, and 45.  Rationales for these credit thresholds include:  Institutional residency policy for any student to receive a degree  Higher Learning Commission requirement at the home institution  Bulk of work completed before transfer  Represents a percentage of credit toward an associate degree (50%, 60%, and 75% mentioned)  If we are going to issue a credential, we don't want to do it based on all transfer credits  Basic point of demarcation  Encourage students who plan to transfer to earn the current MACRAO stamp

Changes to HLC Assumed Practices  New Language for Assumed Practice B. 1. b.: The institution maintains structures or practices that ensure the coherence and quality of the programs for which it awards a degree. Typically institutions will require that at minimum 30 of the 120 credits earned for the bachelor’s degree and 15 of the 60 credits for the associate’s degree be credits earned at the institution itself, through arrangements with other accredited institutions, or through contractual relationships approved by the Commission. Any variation from the typical minima must be explained and justified.

Minimum CC credits required (cont.) Key questions: 1.What are the implications of the HLC change for the minimum credits required by CCs? 2.What are the impediments for establishing a common requirement ?

Degree requirements  There is variation in the degrees the agreements apply to ranging from only AA/AS to all degrees.  No colleges are waiving any degree requirements (three mentioned waiving the graduation fee)  3 colleges are planning to automatically award the associates degree, 6 are considering, and 15 will not.

Degree requirements (cont.) Key questions: 1.Why limit the degrees eligible for reverse transfer to the AA/AS? 2.For those awarding the associate’s automatically what is your rationale and process for doing so?

Frequency & timing of student searches  7 universities search once each term, 2 search once a year, 1 searches twice each year, 1 three times per year (but not based on terms), 1 was unsure, and 1 said it is defined by the community college  7 universities run searches in Sept., 5 each in April and May, 3 in Nov., and 1 each in Feb. and June

Frequency & timing of student searches Key questions: 1.What is the rationale for the timing and frequency of these searches? 2.What happens to students who express interest in reverse transfer but are not yet eligible? Are they included in future searches?

Other responses about eligibility  A college encourages students to apply for graduation prior to leaving so they can identify which credits are needed to complete the degree  A college indicated that one form was used that encompasses the FERPA release, graduation application, etc. to makes it easier for students  A university indicated that their Transfer Student Application will contain a statement that the student can check if they do not want to participate in reverse transfer. This will allow them to run the process and review for eligible students and send the information to the community colleges

Next Steps  Circulate slides/recording of today’s student webinar (as well as OCCRL materials  Communications with Students Webinar – 8/26  Monday, August 26 th – 1:30 to 3:00 pm  University/community College Partnerships In-Person Meeting (prior to the 2013 Student Success Summit)  Thursday, September 19 th – 9:00 to 11:00am in Lansing

Chris Baldwin Michigan Center for Student Success Patty Farrell-Cole Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan