The Pennsylvania Board of Governors approved new policy revisions last month that made it easier to transfer credits between state system schools as well as transfer credits earned from community colleges.
Betsy Stevens, associate director of admissions and transfer articulation, said the goal of the policy was to help students get the best use out of their earned credits and prevent duplication of coursework and experience.
“The policy revisions focus on the flexibility of transfer credit placement within the state system, more seamless acceptance of prior learning credit-transfer credits awarded for experiences outside of the traditional classroom and the formalizing of the Reverse Transfer Process,” Stevens said.
Stevens said the Reverse Transfer Initiative has become more prevalent for community college students who want to enroll in state universities. The process allows for former community college students enrolled at state system schools to transfer their credits toward obtaining a degree from their previous place of enrollment.
Stevens said that last possible candidates for the process were identified in July and the university communicated with the students and received their permission to release official SRU transcripts back to the community colleges, where the credits were then analyzed for the award of the community college associate degrees.
She said that Butler County Community College will be awarding 11 associate degrees to current SRU students in December as a result of the Reverse Transfer Process.
Stevens said this change did not alter SRU’s previous credit transfer policy, which has always been flexible with how credits are received for liberal studies requirements. She said that other schools in the state system that previously were reluctant to accept these credits have been more directly impacted.
The policy changes will go into effect during the Fall 2017 semester.
