Western Policy EXCHANGES, June 1997

Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education -- June 1997

Transitions,
Transfer, and
Articulation: What are the Challenges?

IN THIS ISSUE

From May 27-29, 1997 WICHE, with the Education Commission of the States and the State Higher Education Executive Officers, held a western policy forum on the theme, "Fostering Postsecondary Student Success: Transitions, Transfer, and Articulation" in Seattle, Washington. Collaborating organizations for this meeting were The College Board and the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Approximately 170 leaders representing the executive and legislative branches of state government, trustees, higher education officials, the business community, faculty, administrators and organizations attended the forum. The central question asked of all participants was: What are the roles of state policy in facilitating the successful movement of students into and through our postsecondary education systems?

This issue of Western Policy Exchanges highlights part of the dialogue that emerged in the sessions. WICHE will continue to report information from the policy forum through its publications and its home page at http://www.wiche.edu.

TRANSITIONS, TRANSFER, and ARTICULATION: WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES?

"Promoting student success is what we are all about," remarked Diane Vines, WICHE chair and vice president of academic development for the California State University Institute, as she convened the Western Policy Forum. Throughout the course of the forum, however, a strong and disturbing theme emerged: student success through transitions, transfer, and articulation has become increasingly difficult in an era of lean fiscal resources, high enrollment projections, and a student population which has outgrown the current system. Richard W. Jonsen, executive director of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, challenged forum participants to grapple with these issues and determine how western states can systemically accommodate the growing number of students and their specific needs through more efficient transitions.

Education is no longer a linear process for students. According to Clifford Adelman, senior research analyst for the U.S. Department of Education, students are moving in, out, and around higher education at astonishing rates. A national study of the high school graduating class of 1982 revealed 50 percent had attended more than one higher education institution in a variety of combinations. Clara Lovett, president of Northern Arizona University, finds that students "swirl" around, across, and through the lines of demarcation between high school, community college, and senior institutions. Despite the apparent frequency with which students move around the system, however, the lines of demarcation are seldom penetrated without difficulty. The transferability of coursework and programs; complaints by one segment that another hasn't prepared students adequately; the frequent clashing of boards and policymakers representing different segments of the system; dated assessment practices; and market-driven education are but a few issues which impede the seamless and efficient education of students.

The system needs to be redesigned to fit contemporary needs. Transfer and articulation is a much broader question than it once was, agreed Ann Daley, executive policy director for the Washington Governor's office. "We have to educate students who are getting part of their education through the internet; welfare recipients who need training in order to work; and countless employees whose professions change so fast that they need constant re-training." The current system was developed by previous generations to fit very different needs. "We need to redesign it around the principle of universality of access and understanding that nearly all adult Americans are going to need access somewhere in the higher education continuum," noted Lovett.

The problem is tied largely to the policy environment and funding structures in which higher education operates. Too often, higher education policy is driven by the dollars available, not widely-agreed upon policy objectives. One solution would be to set higher education policy and budgets in multiple year sequences, rather than one-year segments. "If we are going to have seamless higher education, it will take multiple years to do it right and see it through. We must agree upon the priorities and measures needed to implement policy and then enter into a multi-year compact that defines the issues such as resources, access, attainment goals, and accountability so that we have a structure which supports the direction we wish to go," suggested Robert T. "Tad" Perry, executive director of the South Dakota Board of

of Regents. Fundamentally, public policy should be flexible and protect the student. "If we had a system where money followed the student, we would see articulation at a much more rapid rate," suggested Norma Paulus, Oregon's superintendent of public instruction.

Competency-based performance standards as opposed to seat-time, would be one way to "re-think what we mean about transfer and articulation," noted Frank Newman, president of the Education Commission of the States. Prior to the assessment movement, which has refocused the discussion in terms of outcomes, "…we seldom talked about transitions and transfer in terms of what it did to students…was it good for them? We talked about whether it was good for institutions and how it reflected on the quality of the institutions," noted Martha Romero, president of the College of Siskiyous. With a higher education system increasingly driven by workforce demands, student success is no longer a compilation of courses without identifiable outcomes. Don Carlson, Washington state representative, pro-vided the policymaker's perspective: "We'd like to see students finish on schedule…If a student can accomplish a task, what does it matter if he or she has had three or five years of college."

Perhaps the most revolutionary response among higher education and public policy leaders to the changing student population and the need for competency-based training is the Western Governors University. The WGU, "…an independent, technology-based, non-profit, degree-granting institution, while not a replacement for the existing campus education system, will enhance access to quality higher education," explained Utah Governor Michael Leavitt. The WGU represents a regional and cooperative effort to balance access, quality, growth, and efficiency. "Technology is breaking down the walls of the institution," commented Daley. "It is accelerating and complicating the pace with which we have to grapple with this issue." In response, John Hansen, Idaho state senator remarked, "If WGU disappeared today, something would take its place. Higher education recognizes this and wants to be part of the relevant delivery of higher education."

To foster student success, states and higher education systems should consider sweeping changes to their transfer and articulation processes. As a starting point, experience should drive policy, an approach which generally works better and lasts longer, according to Peter Smith, president of the California State University-Monterey. Charles Kane, chancellor of the Seattle Community College District, asserted that the current system does not serve us well today. Significant change requires policymakers to assess the performance of their postsecondary systems against state priorities and the performance and funding structures necessary to meet future needs. "We invest in what we value," stated Jim Mingle, executive director of the State Higher Education Executive Officers. If the higher education community values student success, policymakers and higher education leaders will construct creative policies to facilitate the transition, transfer, and articulation of students.

MODELS FOR CHANGE

In Utah, any course offered at one of the state's higher education institutions and numbered 100 or higher is guaranteed transferable within the state system. According to Janet Felker, Transfer Director at Salt Lake Community College, this policy protects community college students. However, this "transfer-friendly" policy also intensifies the "FTE chase," says Felker. While community colleges advise students to complete their associate degree programs before transferring, senior institutions encourage students to transfer early.

Educational partnership and seamless education has thrived in rural Arizona. Northern Arizona University (NAU) and Arizona Western College (AWC) have a "formal educational partnership in which AWC provides freshman and sophomore courses leading to associate degrees, and NAU offers articulated junior and senior courses leading to baccalaureate degrees, as well as graduate programs in Yuma." This model, which integrates university and community college education, facilities, and resources, has provided higher education to a high-growth region of Arizona.

In the area of school reform, the Oregon legislature recently passed a school improvement effort which implemented significantly higher and performance-based standards for all secondary school students in academic courses. The state's higher education board responded by teaming up with key businesses to fund the development of a Proficiency-Based Admissions Standards System (PASS) which establishes broad skills sets for college admission. Eventually, the PASS system will become a surrogate to traditional admissions measures such as grade point average and course completion.

In California, CSU-Monterey has implemented proficiency- or "experienced-based" education. According to Peter Smith, the institution's president, "Students here don't graduate because of courses taken or credits earned. They graduate by satisfying the faculty they've met the requirements for graduation which are stated in terms of university learning and major learning requirements." CSU-Monterey students culminate their collegiate experiences by presenting "capstone projects" where they reflect on, analyze, and present four years of learning. After a recent festival of students' work, "We are still trying to understand what happened," said Smith. "It was the single most profound and moving experience of my professional life…our critics were silenced by the depth and value of this process."

A forthcoming issue of Policy Insights, WICHE's new report series on current issues, will examine policies in the western states that impact student articulation and transfer. Available in late summer 1997, the publication will highlight several models and best practices presented at the May western policy forum. The report will also be available on the WICHE web site or by calling 303/541-0224.

Western Policy Exchanges is published by WICHE with support from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. For more information about this issue, call or send e-mail to Cheryl Blanco at 303-541-0221 or cblanco@wiche.edu.