RCC Recognized for Leading the State in Supporting Transfer Students
Several California Community Colleges and California State Universities to be honored for success at implementing critical transfer policy, the Associate Degree for Transfer, and many for closing racial/ethnic equity gaps in the transfer process.
The Campaign for College Opportunity announced the California community colleges and California State University (CSU) campuses leading the state in supporting the transfer goals of students as the 2022 Champions of Higher Education for Excellence in Transfer.
Riverside City College is among 22 community colleges being recognized for significantly increasing the number of students earning an Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT), an instrumental pathway that has streamlined the transfer process. Eight CSU campuses are recognized for enrolling ADT-earning students on an ADT guaranteed pathway. Additionally, several of the college and university honorees are excelling in closing equity gaps for Latinx and Black transfer students via the ADT. All honorees will be recognized at the 2022 Champions of Higher Education for Excellence in Transfer celebration on November 1st.
“We celebrate the thirty California Community Colleges and California State Universities that are truly transforming transfer for students,” said Jessie Ryan, Executive Vice President of the Campaign for College Opportunity and former community college transfer student, “The ADT gives students struggling with a complicated transfer maze a clear path to success, and we commend each campus for their dedication to making this the preferred pathway for students across the state.”
RCC offers 34 ADT programs from Administration of Justice to Theatre Arts. To date, California community colleges have awarded over 426,000 ADTs. Transfer students with an ADT who enroll in the CSU on a guaranteed pathway are more likely to graduate and accumulate fewer units, earning their bachelor’s degree in less time compared to other students.
Transfer from a community college to a four-year university continues to be a bureaucratic, inconsistent, and confusing maze, where students must parse through a system with varied information and requirements for each campus. Though transfer is often thought of as a two-year process, under three percent of students at the California Community Colleges transfer after two years, and only 23 percent after four years.
One key effort that is clearing the transfer pathway is the Associate Degree for Transfer. In 2010, with then-California State Senator Alex Padilla, the Campaign for College Opportunity sponsored historic transfer reform legislation that created a clear pathway for students to earn an associate degree with guaranteed admission and junior standing into the CSU system. The ADT has ensured students can transfer without accumulating excess units, saving them time and money.
About Campaign for College Opportunity
The Campaign for College Opportunity is a California non-profit bipartisan policy and research organization focused on a single mission: to ensure all Californians have an equal opportunity to attend and succeed in college in order to build a vibrant workforce,