Illinois is first in the nation in bachelor’s degree completion among community college students, full- or part-time, who transfer to a four-year institution according to national data from 2017. Illinois data show that low-income, African American, and Latinx new transfer students persist at higher rates than their same-group peers who enroll as first-time freshmen at public universities. This success results from the state’s transfer infrastructure, the Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI), and a set of supporting policies, which provide a framework for the transfer of General Education and major coursework. Over 100 colleges and universities participate in the IAI, including all public institutions. Faculty and administrator panels routinely review the more than 9,000 courses in the IAI system to ensure transfer integrity. The IAI, institutional transfer agreements, the My Credits Transfer system, and alignment efforts by transfer coordinators constitute the robust set of supports for student transfer. This approach has served as a national model with other states, including California and Indiana, adopting policies similar to the IAI.
iTransfer serves as a portal for transfer assistance in the State of Illinois between Illinois institutions of higher education.
MyCreditsTransfer is a statewide initiative designed to facilitate transfer within Illinois using the nationally available tool, Transferology.
Students increasingly take courses at multiple institutions of higher education to earn their degrees. However, without careful attention and alignment, students can also accumulate credits that are not recognized at subsequent institutions, with the result that their time to and cost of degree is extended. The IBHE and ICCB, working in cooperation with transfer leaders across the state, identified ways to enhance transfer so that adults with some college but no degree can finish their degrees. In 2019-2020, the agencies also undertook a study of options for improving the state’s transfer infrastructure. IBHE is working to:
Create a state communications campaign to locate and target adults who hold substantial college credits about their options to finish up a degree or be awarded a degree for which they are already eligible.
Publicize and scale options for reverse transfer so that individuals who transferred from a community college prior to completing the associate degree can receive the associate degree while working toward a bachelor’s degree; leverage reverse transfer options in certain STEM fields where it may be more efficient for the student to transfer before completing their associate degree.
Evaluate impact of public universities offering associate degrees for students who may have to drop out before completing a bachelor’s degree. If students have completed a course of study equivalent to an Associate of Arts degree at the university, they could be awarded the degree, reducing the number of people who leave school with some college but no degree. Evaluation should focus on potential near- and long-term impacts on the higher education ecosystem.
Develop strategies for maximizing transfer of degree-applicable courses including math pathways and meta-majors.
Develop transfer options for students holding the Associate of Applied Science degree and evaluate near-term and long-term impacts on the higher education ecosystem of establishing authority for community colleges to offer baccalaureate degree programs in specific fields.
Expand the use of 2+2, 3+1, and dual degree agreements to ensure students have clear information about and coordinated advising for their academic journey.
Launch a transfer guarantee initiative that provides students with upfront information about their total cost, time to degree and full details about their transfer path.
Enhance student information and advising about transfer in relation to high demand majors, majors with specific licensure requirements, and institution-specific requirements for graduation at receiving institutions.
Provide stable funding for the Illinois Articulation Initiative, MyCredits Transfer, and Transferology. These state systems ensure that students have supports for transfer in cases where they are taking courses but do not know to what institution they wish to transfer or which major they want to transfer.