Serving the Fullerton Community Since 1922

The Hornet

The Hornet

Serving the Fullerton Community Since 1922

The Hornet

The ‘new normal’ to transferring

“At least 50 percent, and perhaps as many as 80 percent of all incoming community college students seek to transfer and earn a bachelor’s degree,” according to a U.S Department of Education survey.

The recent budget cuts on California community colleges have lucky patcher app ios download impacted students wanting to transfer in two years in terms of their ability to do so.

According to the Community College’s Chancellor’s Office, “colleges have been forced to reduce course offerings to fifteen percent.”

The lack of courses offered will greatly decrease the number of options students have.

They no longer have the luxury or freedom to enroll in numerous of courses to explore their interests and decide on a major or complete the major they have already chosen.

In addition, they no longer have the option of creating a schedule with all transferable courses they need, in order to transfer within the two year mark.

With the lack of classes being offered, students are being forced to accept what is available, not what they want, and in some cases, need to graduate.

“Hundreds of thousands of students [have been] turned away, layoffs, furloughs, and increase in class size,” are some of the unfortunate effects of devastating budget reduction according to the Chancellor’s Office.

These days a regular community college student not only has to worry about passing their tests and finishing their assignments on time, but if they will be allowed to enroll into a class at all.

When a student has no guarantee of getting a class, there is no guarantee that they will complete the required number of units in a timely manner.

Many students choose community colleges over four year institutions for a myriad of reasons including because it is easier for them to grasp the material in a smaller environment.

Another effect of the budget cuts was the increase in class size. By increasing class sizes, colleges are no longer the place for students to receive a concentrated and focused education from their professors whom often have over 150 students.

Larger class sizes mean professors have less of a chance to tend to more individual students’ needs. This is another lasting determinate in the success of a student in a community college.

Although Proposition 30 helped keep classes open and operating, these aren’t enough. General education courses are the basics of transferring but specific major preparation courses are still needed.

Another large obstacle is the lack of planning. The thousands of universities that accept transfer students have individual and specific course requirements.

Attempting to navigate and organize through all these requirements can be frustrating.

There are websites such as Assist.org that allow students to search for a specific academic major and university and find the list of major preparation courses they are required to complete in order to transfer there, which can definitely help clarify the process.

An even more comprehensive method of acquiring information is to speak to the transfer representative from the university you most want to attend.

These methods can prove to be immensely successful in helping to break down the complex process.

Another way students can better their chances of transferring to certain four year universities is by participating in the TAG program, which stands for transfer admission guarantee.

TAG is offered by seven University of California schools, and students in the program are guaranteed admission to these schools after completing the required coursework and meeting the GPA requirements.

This is probably one of the strongest resources available to community college students wanting to transfer, because it can guarantee admission into the school of their choice.

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