Dive Brief:
- The National Student Clearinghouse is enabling partnerships between community colleges and four-year institutions so students can get associate degrees after they transfer to the four-year school.
- According to eCampus News, the Clearinghouse alerts community colleges to former students who have continued their education elsewhere, earning enough credits for a degree, then gives the college the chance to review the credits and award a degree.
- The Reverse Transfer service is funded by grants and contributions from several universities, and it doesn’t cost anything to use.
Dive Insight:
Millions of students transfer out of community colleges before earning a degree. The ones who stay long enough to earn an associate degree are more likely to continue on and earn a bachelor’s. The Reverse Transfer program expects to increase morale among transfer students and make them more marketable to employers, regardless of whether they finish their second degree.
The program requires four-year institutions to monitor the degree progress of their transfer students, letting them know they are close to finishing their first degree. Students must then consent to the data sharing as four-year schools pass back academic records to community colleges.