Agreements are underway between Wyoming community colleges and UW to make the transfer to UW for Wyoming community college students more efficient based on the development of a new two plus two degree plan.
“The plans will include a four semester sequence of course work for an associate’s degree at the community college and then another four semester sequence of coursework to complete the bachelor’s degree at UW,” said Patrice Noel, director of transfer relations at UW. “We are working closely with academic advisors and departmental heads at the seven Wyoming community colleges and UW to develop the two plus two degree plans by spring 2015.”
There are seven total community colleges in Wyoming and 17 high enrollment degree plans, meaning that 119 new degree plans will be made. Once the plans have been completed and approved, they will be accessible to advisors and students in nearly every department.
In 2013-2014, UW enrolled 1,506 new transfer students, 877 of which transferred from a Wyoming community college.
“It is our sincere hope and intention that the new two plus two degree plans will create a clear path to completing a degree at UW and reduce time to graduation for Wyoming transfer students,” Noel said.
On average, it takes a transfer student 18 additional credit hours to complete a degree at UW than for a student who started at UW.
“The amount of time saved will depend on several factors,” Noel said. “Including students following the plan, students being ready for college level English and Math courses and students not changing majors.”
The two plus two degree plan has been a popular trend for American institutions since 1971 when Florida became the first state to legislatively mandate a statewide articulation plan. The development of the plan at UW will make the transfer process more efficient for students.
Max Renton, a UW student said that the plans would have been beneficial to him years ago.
“If I would have been going to UW during the time I was getting my associates at a community college I would be graduating much sooner. It kind of felt like a waste of time,” said Renton. “For example, I could have been taking more upper division classes at UW sooner instead of some of the classes that were required only for the associate’s degree.”
Renton attended LCCC and said he had friends who attended Casper Community College that also experienced difficulties in transferring credits.
For some students though, no difficulties were met. David Mecham, a UW student who transferred from LCCC in Albany County said, “I really had no difficulties in transferring my credits because the Albany County campus of LCCC was in very close communication with UW.”
On Sept. 12, Alyson Haggy, the UW associate vice president for academic affairs, addressed the UW Board of Trustees about the plans to replace the present transfer process using the two plus two degree plans.
Agreements between the Laramie County Community College and the UW College of Business have been made since then, guaranteeing credits taken by business students at LCCC will meet requirements towards two different degree programs within UW’s College of Business. The two degrees agreed upon were UW’s undergraduate accounting and business administration programs, two popular majors for Wyoming community college transfer students.
These two agreements served as models for the rest of the state at a meeting between community college representatives and the UW administration on Sept. 25 in Laramie.
At the meeting, the UW administration talked about developing a new service at UW called the “Transfer Equivalent Self Service”. This new service, regardless of what institution a student is attending, allows them to receive an unofficial degree analysis.
A student first has to create a free account, then by inputting information about their desired UW degree, intended start date and credits received elsewhere, the student will gain a better understanding of how their credits will transfer and apply to a UW degree. The service is now available to anyone interested in attending UW.
In addition to an easier transition for transfer students, Noel said UW is also developing four-year degree plans, eight semesters of sequenced course work, for all 90 undergraduate degree programs at UW.
“Both sets of academic plans will provide students with clear and transparent pathways to completing a degree at UW,” said Noel.
