College transfer policies should be clear

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July 20, 2010

Anonymous Pharos-Tribune Sat Jul 24, 2010, 06:35 PM EDT

Indiana’s colleges and universities need to get their acts together when it comes to transferring credits from Ivy Tech Community College.

The Indianapolis Star reported this week that while Ivy Tech has agreements with 65 universities, the agreements aren’t necessarily binding and they can be confusing.

And even when the top officials at the various universities come to terms, individual departments don’t always go along. In some cases, the newspaper found, an individual dean can have the final say on whether a course taken at Ivy Tech will count toward a degree in a four-year program.

It really shouldn’t be so complicated.

During an appearance before told the Indiana Commission for Higher Education in May, Don Doucette, vice president and provost of academic affairs at Ivy Tech, cited examples where credits for psychology, economics, medical terminology and math classes were not accepted by other institutions.

The result, of course, is that students wind up paying another round of tuition to take classes they have already taken, making it less likely they will succeed in finishing their degrees.

The problem could complicate the state’s effort to improve the percentage of students completing their degrees within four years.

At this point, only 31 percent of Indiana college students accomplish that, while 55 percent finish within six years. That completion rate ranks 22nd among the 50 states.

Some university officials defend the current policies. They argue that it’s important for their departments to make certain that transfer students are “on par” with their peers.

Others, though, acknowledge that at least part of the problem might be a belief on four-year campuses that the level of instruction at a two-year college is not the same.

Frankly, we think Ivy Tech President Thomas J. Snyder is on the right track with his plan to establish an advocate to monitor transfer issues and help students navigate the system. Such an office could spot problem areas and work to address them as they arise.

In the meantime, state higher education officials should work to expand a library of core courses that will transfer from one college to another, and they should also work to limit the number of exceptions.

Students who enroll in classes at Ivy Tech should know the ground rules going in. And when university officials say the credits will transfer, they ought to transfer.

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