Going out-of-state to grow student population
PHOTO/COURTESY
Nichols College in Dudley is the latest to jump on the trend of college articulation agreements, providing a seamless transfer pathway for students.
Nichols College is the latest in Central Massachusetts to offer an articulation agreement that provides a pathway to a four-year education for community college students, but the small private college is approaching the issue slightly differently than other schools in the region.
The Dudley private college now has partnerships with four public community colleges in three different states: Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner, Quinebaug Valley Community College in Connecticut and Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) in Warwick.
It's one of many recent examples of a Central Massachusetts school teaming up with community colleges to offer a transfer pathway, but the first example of a private school in the region partnering with two-year institutions in other states.
The new program – called the Affordable Business and Leadership Education (ABLE) initiative – came out of a desire to make Nichols the most community college student-friendly private college in New England, said William Boffi, the college's vice president for enrollment.
The school's resident student population has grown, and so it now has the capacity to add more commuters, he said.
“We have longstanding partnerships with a few community colleges, and those students who come to us do very well. More recently, those students have gone the state school alternative because they are committed to the price; and we thought we need to raise our game as well and refresh existing relationships,” said Boffi.
Strengthening the Transfer Pathway
In Central Massachusetts and throughout the country, more and more private schools are offering transfer pathways, to make it easier for students to enter into a four-year degree program and to widen their appeal to the diverse community college student population.
“There is attention being paid to trying to keep the costs to students lower. And so students don't have to repeat courses, and therefore incur tuition and time expenses to take that course again, when the agreement hasn't been reached ahead of time,” said Terrel Rhodes, vice president of the office of quality, curriculum and assessment at the Association of American Colleges and Universities.
Through the ABLE Initiative, students who complete their associate's degree at a partner institution can enroll as full-time commuters and pay $5,500 per semester – a steep discount from the school's regular $33,400 annual tuition rate. Students can also go in through the undergraduate adult program and take evening or online classes for $330 per credit – just short of $20,000 for their remaining 60 credits.
This year, the Boston-based Edvance Foundation released a report titled “Strengthening the Transfer Pathway,” which studied 414 private colleges in an effort to improve higher education by enhancing the path to a bachelor's degree for community college students. Although 80 percent of those students start school with plans to transfer and earn a bachelor's degree, just 25 percent of them will have transferred five years later, according to the study. Even within six years of transferring, just 17 percent of those students will earn a bachelor's degree.
The biggest obstacle to transfers, according to the report, is the credit-transfer evaluation, and admissions standards vary widely. Colleges have transfer agreements in place, but there are inconsistencies in those agreements.
The study called for a development of metrics that measure the progress of transfer participants from a young age until they get their jobs; early identification of promising students; stronger faculty involvement; and a network of mentors for two-year students, among other things, in order to strengthen transfer agreements.
It's a good idea, and one that is increasing in popularity, said Rhodes, and evidence suggests they work.
In its report, the Edvance Foundation highlighted a program called the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation's Community College Transfer Initiative, which provided funding to eight highly selective college and universities to help high-achieving, low-to-moderate income community college students transfer to their institutions from 2006 to 2010.
For the 1,100 students who participated, the average grade point average was 3.11, and in many cases the students graduated at rates comparable to the graduation rates of the general student population.
Reaching a broader audience
Less selective private schools like Nichols, which according to the school has a 74-percent acceptance rate, are more inclined to be friendly towards transfer students from community colleges, the Edvance report found. ABLE has a 100 percent acceptance rate.
Nichols enrollment has grown by 22 percent since 2012, said Boffi. The ABLE initiative is a way for the college to grow its commuter student population, and the population of its online and evening class learners, though they will eventually offer ABLE incentives to resident students as well. In many cases, CCRI or Mount Wachusett students can commute to Nichols within 30 minutes, he said.
“Community colleges are a diverse set of students in terms of age range, economic background and the way they prefer to take courses. Some like to be full time and take classes during the day, some during the day and evening,” he said. “That's a beautiful diversity we want to tap into.”
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments