Calif. colleges work to improve transfer process
By Alexei Koseff, Sacramento Bee
More than 50 years ago, California’s revered Master Plan for Higher Education established public community colleges as a means to educate the state’s lower-division students and prepare them for transfer to a higher institution.
Today, the sprawling system of 112 colleges and more than 2.1 million students transfers only about 40 percent of those seeking to continue on to a university where they can finish a bachelor’s degree, according to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.
The poor transfer rate stems in part from a conundrum of varying requirements and confusing pathways between schools that finally resulted in a 2010 bill, SB 1440, creating the Associate Degree for Transfer. The two-year degree guarantees admission into the California State University system as a junior and sets students up to complete their studies in four years – an increasing challenge at CSU campuses where high enrollment creates heavy demand for mandatory classes.
40% sounds about right.
When I attended my University’s Bachelor’s Degree welcoming conference in the Dean’s motivation speech he said that we needed to work hard but not everyone would or should graduate. He said to look at the person on our left, look at the person on our right and then at ourself because only one of us would graduate.
I wonder what % of people fail to graduate because they don’t have unlimited funds available to them because of the luck of birth wealth
TeaTotal– I’m sure there are some who must quit due to lack of funding. Most of the people I know who went to a 4 year school worked part time or took out a student loan. My parents, neither of whom went to college, helped me at the sacrifice of things they wanted for themselves. I worked as well and took summer school classes to shorten the time in school.
My daughter realized her parents couldn’t fund all her education but didn’t ask for more, instead she got jobs without telling us so she didn’t have to ask for more money.
A College Degree isn’t an entitlement, it’s an opportunity. The achievement of a University degree should be celebrated for those who earn it.
There are a few who are able to pay for any school (your birth wealth group) and another group who are supported by our taxes (because they are underprivileged) but that leaves a large percentage of families supporting their children in their quest for higher learning. Let’s applaud them as they are the ones who don’t feel they are entitled to the government giving them everything while they hope their children can continue it with their grandchildren.