Transferring from a community college to a four-year institution can be a hassle.
There isn?t always a guarantee that credits will transfer, and students often wind up tussling with the four-year universities to make sure every credit they?ve taken counts.
But Harford Community College in Bel Air aims to change that.
“We?ve really revamped the articulation process,” said Jennifer Duff, assistant to the vice president of instruction. “What we?ve tried to do is all of the legwork for the students.”
The college has created what?s called “2+2” agreements with area universities, so HCC students can earn their two-year associate?s degree and then complete a bachelor?s degree within two years.
“What we found in the past is [students] were getting an associate?s degree, and then it would take them another three years [to earn a bachelor?s], and they?d end up graduating with 140 credits,” Duff said.
Unlike oral articulation agreements that some community colleges make with four-year institutions, these articulation agreements are detailed and mapped out for the students, Duff said.
The University of Baltimore and Towson University already have signed on to offer degrees in business and allied health fields to HCC transfer students.
“It?s good for students because they don?t then have to go to the registrar and basically haggle with them,” Duff said.
The college is pursuing similar agreements with Salisbury and Johns Hopkins universities.
Candis Butler, 20, earned an associate?s degree in art before deciding to transfer to Towson University, where she will major in photography.
“I met with advisers, and they helped me choose classes that would transfer,” she said. “[The transition] is really easy if you do what you?re supposed to.”
HCC also is taking strides to bring more bachelor?s courses and programs to the HCC-managed Higher Education and Applied Technology Center in Aberdeen and to the campus itself. “We are finding that our student population in general ? they have lives, and they want to earn advanced degrees, but getting out of Harford County can be difficult,” Duff said. “A lot of our students like Harford County and want to stay in the area.”
