Implementing Transfer Pathways to the Liberal Arts in Iowa

The Iowa Private Transfer Collaborative, composed of 17 private independent institutions and two non-profit organizations, proposes to develop a suite of coherent, transparent, statewide initiatives to improve the transfer admission and graduation pipeline for Iowa community college students. The focus is on students earning an A.A. or A.S. degree from Iowa community colleges, with 60 or more transferable credits, which would place students at the junior level upon transfer to a four-year institution.

The following objectives were identified:

• Adopt six statewide approved transfer majors in Biology, Chemistry, History, Psychology, Sociology and English.
• Develop a guaranteed admission memorandum of agreement.
• Expand general education articulation agreements and reverse credit policies.
• Redevelop the IAICU website and build a communications plan to promote and share these agreements.
• Cultivate relationships between faculty members at two- and four-year institutions within the shared disciplines.
• Hire a Project Director to effectively manage the implementation grant.
• Use data to assess and evaluate our initiatives.

The project will clarify transfer information statewide and improve seamless transfer of credits and time to degree.