As enrollment for transfer students grows, policies and procedures are being developed to make the transfer process more “seamless” in regards to credit hours, said Jane Rex, director of Enrollment Management.
The university is growing their transfer enrollment, not significantly, but by 150 to 300 students per year, Susan Davies, associate vice chancellor for enrollment services, said.
The Office of Transfer Articulation, which was formed in 2010, has been working to develop new policies to help transfers adjust to Appalachian as the number of transfers continues to increase.
This fall, a reverse transfer initiative was implemented.
The initiative allows the university to work with transfer students, with 11 or less hours, to complete their core requirements at the community college they’re currently at, while simultaneously taking Appalachian courses.
Currently, the Office of Transfer Articulation is working on a two plus two agreement, which means if students take two years of coursework at a community college, they can complete their degree in two years at Appalachian.
“I think that we have a lot of initiatives in place now that if we continue to build those initiatives and enhance our communication, then I think we’ll be serving the transfer students well,” Rex said.
The General Education office and Office of Transfer Articulation have been working closely to bridge the gap and make credits transfer and work best for students, Rex said.
The General Education office is looking at out-of-state Associate of Arts and Associate of Sciences, which in the past has not met Appalachian’s general education requirements.
Now, transfer students with an AA or AS are being looked at by a case-by-case basis to determine if they’ve met general education requirements.
This fall, the General Education office is piloting the possibility to have transfers who have met Appalachian’s sister institutions general education requirements to transfer over as having met the university’s general education requirements, Paulette Marty, director of General Education, said.
A proposal will be sent this fall to Academic Policies and Procedures. If approved, the initiative can be implemented next fall.
Story: KELLI STRAKA, News Editor