The State System of Higher Education, after a year of testing and study, has formally adopted a revised version of the Academic Passport, designed to make it easier for students to transfer from community colleges to State System universities or to move from one System university to another.
An Academic Passport, which will assure the holder entry into a State System university, will be awarded to students who have earned either an associate of arts or associate of science degree from a community college in Pennsylvania or who have earned at least 12 credits at another System school.
In order to be eligible for a passport, a student must have a grade point average of at least 2.0. Community college students must have earned at least 30 of their credits in liberal arts courses.
Revisions to the initial passport policy also will make it easier for students who have taken some classes at a community college but who have not earned an associate degree to transfer to a State System university.
The new policy also permits students enrolled at one System university to take courses via distance education at any of the other 13 state-owned schools and to have both the credits and course grade accepted by their home institution.
“The Academic Passport will help ensure even greater access to public higher education for Pennsylvania students,” said State System Chancellor James H. McCormick. “It will help provide for a more seamless transfer of students from the community colleges to our campuses, and also will make it easier for students already enrolled in System universities to transfer when the situation warrants.”
Students often end up attending more than one college or university because they either move, are transferred in their job or change majors.
The Academic Passport will help ensure students don’t have to retake courses or earn additional credits in order to graduate.
System universities will accept up to 45 general education and liberal arts credits from a student who has earned an associate degree, even if the school does not offer the specific course being transferred or has not designated that course as general education. A course-by-course match will not be required.
Credits from courses in which a student received a “D” will transfer only if the student’s overall grade point average exceeds the 2.0 requirement. Universities that require a grade of “C” or above for specific courses will be permitted to continue to do so.
Remedial, developmental or study skills courses will not transfer. Traditionally, such courses are not counted toward degree requirements by either two- or four-year colleges or universities.
Similarly, credits earned by taking occupational and vocational courses usually will not be accepted when a student transfers. Courses in certain technical fields may transfer depending on the program. Students seeking to transfer such courses should contact an adviser.
The university to which a student transfers will determine whether to apply the acceptable credits to the student’s general education requirements, to apply them toward the student’s major or to count them as electives.
Students who seek to transfer to a System university will receive an evaluation of credits prior to their enrollment and payment of tuition and fees.
While the Academic Passport guarantees community college students can transfer to any System university, it does not assure their admission into specific programs. The universities will maintain control over the admissions process, especially in programs with limited openings for students and for which there are additional admission requirements.
Many of the universities already have formal articulation agreements with their neighboring community colleges to help make student transfers easier. Those agreements will remain in force.
In approving the Academic Passport, the Board also directed System universities to join with other publicly funded higher education institutions to develop a statewide articulation program, and to study the feasibility of common course numbering and other methods designed to provide students with a “more effective and efficient pathway through higher education.”
“The concept for the Academic Passport began with our strategic plan, Imperatives for the Future, and has been incorporated into our systemic change agenda,” said Mary W. Burger, vice chancellor for academic and student affairs. “The passport is a step in the direction of enhanced collaboration and cooperation between Pennsylvania’s two truly publicly owned institutions of higher education – the System universities and the community colleges.”
William E. Fulmer, president of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties, which represents System professors, said adoption of the Academic Passport, will enhance the universities’ relationships with the community colleges.
“The State System has been doing a good job of articulation and this latest policy is an improvement on an already good record,” Fulmer said.
The State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth, offering more than 215 undergraduate and more than 100 graduate degree programs. Nearly 350,000 System alumni live and work in Pennsylvania.
The state-owned universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. The System also operates branch campuses in Clearfield, Kittanning, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg and the University Center for Southwest Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh.