Audit Shows ‘Substantial Improvement’ in Transfer Agreements Between NSHE Community Colleges and 4-year Institutions

Transfer and articulation agreements between Nevada’s public community colleges and four-year institutions have shown “substantial improvement,” creating a smoother pathway for student success, a recent audit by the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) indicated.

The Board of Regents learned the results of the final phase of a three-part review of the system-wide transfer and articulation process at its first quarterly meeting of 2021, held March 4 and 5. In 2015, the Board first requested a review of transfer and articulation policies and practices after learning of challenges faced by students when trying to transfer courses between NSHE’s seven degree-granting institutions.

Transfer and articulation agreements between traditional two-year and four-year institutions are meant to create pathways for students to move credits seamlessly between one institution and another.

NSHE’s audit reviewed 2019 transfer agreements within the northern and southern regions of the state. In southern Nevada, this included agreements between the College of Southern Nevada and either University of Nevada, Las Vegas or Nevada State College. In northern Nevada, this included agreements between Great Basin College, Truckee Meadows Community College, or Western Nevada College and the University of Nevada, Reno.

A 2018 audit (the second phase of the overall review requested by the Regents), showed 76 percent of agreements reviewed resulted in little or no loss of college credits.

“As of the final 2019 audit results, 95.4 percent of regional transfer agreements are in compliance with Board policy, evidence that transfer and articulation is working to support student success across NSHE,” the audit found.

“This is inspiring news,” said Regents Chair Mark Doubrava. “Improving the ability of students to move between our traditional two-year and four-year institutions has been a focus of the Board of Regents, the Chancellor, and our institution leaders.”

Chancellor Melody Rose said the improvements seen in transfer and articulation between NSHE’s seven degree-granting institutions over the past few years will help many underserved and critical student populations achieve success in higher education.

“For many students, especially underrepresented and minority student populations, the pathway into higher education begins at the community college level,” the Chancellor said. “Thanks to the hard work of a lot of administrators, faculty and advisors, students transferring from NSHE’s community colleges to our four-year institutions now have a smoother pathway.”

The 2019 audit also found to maintain these substantial gains, NSHE’s institutions must continue to build transfer-going cultures, monitor the transfer and articulation process, and prioritize transfer students, which is expected to increase the transfer rate throughout Nevada and allow students to realize their higher education goals.