Second shot at first-choice schools
Transfer agreements have heightened student interest in community colleges

by Heather B. Hayes
for Virginia Business
April 2007

A number of seniors at Abingdon High School with average grades expect to graduate from the University of Virginia in four years despite the fact that they have yet to apply for admission.

To achieve their goal, they’ll have to reinvent their academic records by enrolling at nearby Virginia Highlands Community College and taking advantage of guaranteed transfer agreements between the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) and various public and private colleges in the state.

Students who want to attend U.Va., for example, will have to meet coursework and performance requirements — including an overall 3.4 grade point average. If they do, they are guaranteed admission in their junior year.

The transfer agreements are opening doors for students who failed to earn high marks needed for freshman admission to prestigious universities, says Lisa Dean, a counselor at Abingdon High School. “Students who haven’t had the most impressive academic records have never felt like the University of Virginia or the College of William and Mary were an option for them,” Dean says. “Now, though, they can take those two years, improve their grades, grow up a little bit, save some money and hopefully take that step to the four-year college of their choice. Students here are really excited about it.”

They’re not the only ones. Enrollment at community colleges is skyrocketing, in part because of the transfer agreements, which came about in 2005 with the passage of the Restructuring Higher Education Financial and Administrative Operations Act. Last fall, 159,202 students were enrolled in credit courses at community colleges, a 3.7 percent increase over fall 2005 and a 10 percent increase over 2001.

Some community colleges are experiencing even greater demand. Chester-based John Tyler Community College, for instance, saw credit-course enrollment jump 12 percent from 2005 to 2006, with the student population rising to 7,500, accord­ing to school President Marshall Smith. “We are pretty much out of room now during prime-time hours,” he says, noting that the institution has started planning for a third building, as well as temporary mobile classrooms, to accommodate growth.

The transfer agreements are definitely playing a large role in attracting more bachelor-degree-seeking students to community colleges, says Glenn DuBois, chancellor of VCCS. “When you have a guarantee, you really have a program that Virginia families can plan for, and the guarantees are also prescribed, so it tells you how to earn that degree,” he explains.

With admission guaranteed, students are more comfortable in letting financial considerations dictate where they go for the first half of college, DuBois says. The average annual tuition and mandatory fees at a community college are $2,269, one-third that of the average public four-year institution in Virginia, according to VCCS.

This “two plus two” route is becoming so appealing to lower- and middle-income families that there is now a separate college planning track for it under the Virginia Prepaid Education Program, a state program that helps families save for college. In addition, legislation passed this year by the General Assembly will provide state-funded grants of $1,000 to students who transfer from community colleges to public and private four-year Virginia institutions — with an extra $1,000 available to students who pursue undergraduate degrees in engineering, nursing, teaching, math or science. To be eligible, students must obtain their associate’s degrees, maintain an overall grade point average of 3.0 and meet certain financial aid requirements.

Beyond tuition, community college is “a real bargain as far as college costs go” says Christopher Ezell, vice president of academic and student affairs at Danville Community College. He notes that many students save with the community college route because they can continue to live at home and avoid room and board expenses for two years. “They can save enough to pay for some of their later years of college or for a necessity, like a car.”

In fact, many of today’s community college students are academically gifted, but for financial or personal reasons they prefer to stay home for their first two years of higher education. Tracy Jackson, a counselor at Granby High School in Norfolk, recalls a student who because of family troubles decided to forgo a four-year college in favor of nearby Tidewater Community College (TCC). The student had such a high grade point average that she earned a full scholarship from TCC and plans to transfer to the College of William & Mary or U.Va. “These agreements give students options, but at the same time, it puts control of the students’ futures into their own hands,” says Jackson.

Guaranteed admission, of course, comes with some conditions. Students have to graduate with an associate’s degree, for example, rather than simply acquire a bag of credits. And depending on the university or college, they also have to display a high-performing academic record over those two years.

The College of William & Mary transfer agreement, for example, requires students to have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.6 and receive no less than a “B” in all their transferable general education courses, including advanced composition. Other schools, such as Old Dominion and Longwood universities, require a minimum 2.5 GPA.

Community college students have always been able to transfer to four-year institutions. But students weren’t guaranteed admission, even if they had outstanding academic records. And when they were accepted, they often lost credit hours — and even got bumped back a year — in the process. “Having something like this that’s formalized and solid is comforting to students because it’s something they can hold fast to and understand and work toward, and they feel that everything associated with their transfer will all go smoothly,” says Smith, president of John Tyler Community College.

Although many of them initially resisted the idea, four-year institutions are enjoying benefits from the transfer agreements. Gregory W. Roberts, transfer dean of admissions at U.Va., says that, in years past, most community college students transferred from three suburban-based feeder schools: Piedmont Virginia, J. Sargeant Reynolds and Northern Virginia community colleges. He now hopes that students from all corners of the state will consider transferring to U.Va. “I think they’ll be encouraged to do that, because they have a framework that allows them to strategize and take the appropriate courses and seamlessly move in here as third-year students,” says Roberts.

And the whole school will benefit because those students will bring different life experiences and a different perspective to the classroom and to the clubs and to the overall environment. And that’s a very good thing.”