An increasing number of states have made it easier for community college students to transfer to baccalaureate institutions by improving articulation and transfer elements, according to a new policy brief from the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC).
Since 2001, states have made strides in all seven elements: statewide policy, cooperative agreements, transfer data reporting, state articulation guides, common core, common-course numbering, and incentives and rewards. The great increases came in the areas of common core and common-course numbering, which respectively jumped from 23 states in 2001 to 34 in 2010, and from 8 states to 18 over the same period.
The most common element used among states are cooperative agreements. Forty-six states use them (based on 2010 data), compared to 40 states in 2001.
“The increasing trend in policy elements shows the clear desire and need for policy interventions that encourage student success after leaving the community college,” said Christopher Mullin, author of the brief and program director for policy analysis at AACC.