Eastern Michigan University and Washtenaw Community College have recently signed an agreement modifying the reverse credit transfer agreement between the two schools, which will benefit students looking to pursue an associate degree through credits gathered at EMU.
Patricia Cygnar, director of community college relations at EMU, said the agreement allows students who have transferred to EMU before getting an associate degree to earn the degree with credits that are completed at the university.
“Each year, WCC will provide a list to EMU officials of students who transferred at least 45 credits to EMU and didn’t apply for an associate degree,” Cygnar said. “EMU will send these students an email asking if they would like to send their transcripts, free of charge, back to WCC and apply for their degree.”
Cygnar said the institutions decided to collaborate with each other on the deal because there has been growing pressure on community colleges to increase their graduation rates.
“Reverse transfer has been attempted in other states as a way to address this issue,” she said. “We started talking about it last year at a conference and then began meeting to work out the process. Since then, Michigan passed legislation requiring universities to have reverse transfer agreements with at least three community colleges.”
Cygnar said students will benefit from the process by getting recognition for the work they did at the community college.
“It is another credential they can include on a resume and a way to show employers that they complete what they start,” she said. “It should help WCC increase their graduation rate. At EMU, we see it as another opportunity to partner with WCC to help the students that transfer between our institutions.”
She said it’s hard to predict how many students will take advantage of the process.
“We are trying to make it as easy as possible because we know students have busy lives and are focused on getting their bachelor’s degrees,” Cygnar said. “I think there are a few hundred that may be eligible each year.”
EMU student Jordan Rizer said it would be bad for students to just drop out, especially if there is another option, such as the reverse transfers.
“I think it’s awesome. I would do that,” she said.
Rizer also agreed it looks good to have something such as a completed degree on a resume to present to future employers.
Stuart Blacklaw, vice president of instruction at WWC, said the reverse transfer process has always been an option but not many people knew about it. The new agreement will apply to students who were within 15 credits of completion at WCC when they shifted to EMU. Blacklaw said those students are most likely to be eligible.
The schools are also trying to waive any future costs that might arise from the process, Blacklaw said.
“We are trying to make sure that any of the barriers are brought down,” he said. “All students will have to do is say, ‘Yes’ to Eastern to send transcripts back to Washtenaw Community College and wait.”
EMU student Alexandra Quatro said she thinks the reverse transfer program is helpful because students can still feel good about completing part of their education if they are unable to complete a bachelor’s degree for any reason.
“It’ll be nice for kids that kind of slack off their first year and then realize they want to do something with their lives,” she said.
In a statement, EMU President Susan Martin said the schools teamed up on the idea because they want students to be able to start work toward their bachelor’s degree and use the credits to
simultaneously complete an associate degree at WCC.
Martin said students will begin to take advantage of the procedure if the school helps by automating the process, so credits earned at EMU get reported automatically back to WCC. Martin said that she doesn’t foresee any disadvantages regarding the agreement.
“It’s a win-win for everyone,” Martin said.
