The California Community Colleges and University of California announced in a press

release on March 21 to add initiatives to their existing Transfer Pathways program.

The $2.6 million initiative would especially aid prospective UC transfer students who may not have access to higher education, according to the press release.

Destinee Mccallister, a child development major, supports the program and applied to the Cal State University system but not the UC system out of a lack of guidance.

“I think it’s a good program. I feel like Cal States are only in my reach because they’re cheaper and get more admission to it,” Destinee said. “I’m familiar with the Cal States and know what classes to take. I always thought UCs were out of my reach.”

The Transfer Pathways program recommends courses for the UC’s 21 most popular majors. The recent initiate helps students when choosing classes for their major.

“The UCs have recognized the importance of their transfer students and to provide programs that make transferring more seamless,” Cadena Cultural and Transfer Center transfer specialist Brandi Avila said.

Attending a UC is dependent on the individual’s goals and financial resources, Avila explained. Students may be interested in a research based institution or have specific academic objectives that make attending one of the nine campuses a viable option.

Students may find attending a UC cheaper than a CSU, according to Avila.

Along with various grants and scholarships, the UC offers the ‘Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan’, which, depending on a student’s monetary situation, cover tuition and fees for students making under $80 thousand a year.

Before Pathways, many students took different major courses for each UC school. The program is the UC system’s first attempt in standardizing major preparation coursework and may save community college students extra time and money.

The program categorizes common major preparation courses for each eligible major, though some campuses may require or strongly recommend other classes.

“Pathways acts as a foundation for the courses found for the UC’s by being a common minimum major preparation curriculum,” Transfer and Cadena Cultural Center Director Cecilia Arriaza said.

According to UC President Janet Napolitano, Pathways will help increase California resident community college enrollment after a decline in said applicant admissions since 2012.

The supplementary additions include: training for community college counselors, summer programs to academically prepare 1,500 students transferring from community colleges to a UC and representatives would provide support for “undeserved” state regions.

”It could be a lot of help for first generation students who don’t have many resources to have more access to UCs,” said sociology major and first-generation student Jessica Cordova.

Furthermore, the Pathways program helps students pick their classes ahead of time to prevent them from staying longer than necessary in community college.

“Students need to come to the transfer center and should be meeting with a counselor once a semester with a comprehensive plan for every course they need to take for their major and the campuses they said they were interested in,” Avila said.

Following the course outline isn’t a guarantee for admission, according to the UC admissions website. Pathways allows students to be more competitive across campuses.

Majors not listed at the Transfer Pathways Program can be found at assist.org.