Hechinger Report: Strapped for students, colleges finally begin to clear transfer logjam

Hechinger Report spotlights the College Executive Program's executive director Josh Wyner, as well as member colleges of the American Talent Initiative, in a feature that underscores the imperative to fix transfer, outlines the steps four-year institutions can take to streamline the transfer student pipeline, and spotlights best practices at the institutional and state levels.

When Covid-19 threw higher education into chaos, Lebanon Valley College quietly took a small step with big implications. Researchers found common elements among the programs, including that they evaluate equity gaps and set goals to close them, advertise to communities of color and proactively support struggling students.  The report's takeaways may be especially relevant during the pandemic, which threatens to expand equity gaps in higher education and diminish community college enrollment. The private college near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, promised that the general education courses taken by any student transferring from another accredited institution would count toward a degree — something that doesn’t usually happen, and is among the reasons students who transfer lose many of the credits they’ve already earned and paid for. “You’re welcome here,” it told prospective transfer students in its recruiting materials. “And so are your transfer credits.”