Students seeking transfers to 4-year state colleges in a bind

It's a common route, especially in this state: Go to community college, transfer to a four-year school.

But key higher-education leaders are concerned the path is becoming more difficult. Increasing enrollment at two-year schools, combined with a lack of state funding, is putting the squeeze on transfer students.

"There is a problem," said Lee Huntsman, interim president of the University of Washington. "The size of our transfer class is under pressure."

Indeed, the number of students seeking transfer to four-year schools is increasing more than the number of available slots for them.

As a result, qualified transfer students are having to wait months to gain admission to the UW, or even a year in high-demand programs such as computer science.

Among them is Mary Harper of Seattle, a full-time student at North Seattle Community College, who applied for a fall 2003 transfer to the UW. The 40-something single mother of eight, who carries a 3.96 grade-point average, was told by college advisers that if accepted by the UW she might have to wait until the winter 2004 quarter to start.

"I know it could be disappointing, because you want to get going," said Harper, adding that "this pursuit of higher education is vital for our (family's) well-being. But I know the UW is booked to capacity."

The UW's capacity problems became most pronounced earlier this year when the school deferred admissions for 300 academically qualified transfer students from winter quarter to spring quarter because of over-enrollments. Students caught in that bind were allowed to transfer 15 additional community-college credits over the 90 allowed to make up for the inconvenience.

Higher-education leaders have called on Gov. Gary Locke and state lawmakers to increase funding to meet the growing demand for access at public two- and four-year schools. The Legislature reconvenes in special session today to address budget issues.

But other higher-education officials, such as Ruta Fanning, deputy director of the state's Higher Education Coordinating Board, said while demographic and economic pressures can't be ignored, the more than 12,000 students who annually make the transition from community and technical schools to four-year institutions are proof the transfer system works.

"It's relatively easy and efficient to transfer," Fanning said. "There's no question that we're going to be facing increased demand. (But) I don't think there's any big problem out there."

More selective

Typically, students seeking transfer to a four-year university must meet certain criteria established through "articulation" or "direct transfer" agreements between the state's two- and four-year schools. Those criteria usually include maintaining a certain grade-point average and earning a certain number of credits.

It's an especially popular practice in Washington, where 66 percent of college students attend a two-year school.

Officials at some universities, including the UW and Western Washington, say the growing volume of students seeking transfer has forced them to become more selective in recent years.

At the UW, transfer students are guaranteed admission only if they carry a minimum 2.75 GPA and have completed an associate's degree. Those students also must demonstrate proficiency in core academic areas such as English, social studies, mathematics and science. In past years, students with a 3.5 GPA and one year of community college also would be admitted.

At Western, the minimum GPA requirement for transfer students is 2.0. But Karen Copetas, Western's admissions director, said the average GPA for incoming transfer students is 3.2 and climbing higher every year.

"For 10 years, we haven't been able to admit everybody we would like to," Copetas said, adding that "when you have limited space and limited state resources, such as we do now, it is a problem." Jane Sherman, an assistant vice provost at Washington State University, said the school's branch campuses in Spokane, the Tri-Cities and Vancouver have helped ease the transfer crunch.

Students across the state have been well-served by the five branch campuses operated by the UW and WSU, according to a recent study by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy. Enrollment at branch campuses increased from roughly 500 full-time equivalent (FTE) students in 1989 to more than 5,100 FTEs in 2001.

But even so, Sherman is still concerned about the future.

"We're all struggling, kind of flailing around to meet the state's needs," Sherman said. "We are committed to trying to keep the balance we have in terms of transfer students. But we're worried."

In addition to boosting admissions standards, state schools ration access to higher education by allowing only a portion of student populations to be made up of transfer students.

In the 2001-02 academic year — the most recent period for which statistics were available — the proportion of community- and technical-college transfers enrolled at public four-year schools ranged from just under 32 percent at Eastern Washington University in Cheney to nearly 45 percent at The Evergreen State College in Olympia.

According to state statistics, more than 180,000 full-time-equivalent students attend Washington's 34 community and technical colleges at any one time. About 37 percent of those are students who intend to move on to four-year schools. The number of transfer students is projected to increase by at least 5 percent each year in the next decade.

So if four-year schools don't increase the proportion of transfer students accepted, more students will be denied admission or their admissions will be delayed.

"There are people who get cut out," said Loretta Seppanen, an administrator for the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. "Without a lot more state resources thrown into the pie, we're not going to be able to give (students) the same level of service we have in the past."

Some students are worried about being excluded because of numbers, not academics.

Jolie Namsa, 20, a student at Bellevue Community College, says she wants to transfer to the UW next year to pursue a bachelor's degree in Communications. But with a 3.19 GPA, she worries that might not be good enough.

"I'm trying to work my way up right now," Namsa said. "I'm just scared of not getting in. I know it's really strict right now because so many students want to go there."

Recruitment

Private and independent colleges, recognizing a business opportunity, are stepping up their recruitment of transfer students.

For example, Renton Technical College recently signed a transfer agreement with DeVry University, which allows students who earn an associate-of-applied-science degree at Renton to transfer directly into DeVry's bachelor of science in Technical Management program. DeVry has a campus in Federal Way and a center in Bellevue.

Argosy University/Seattle and Seattle Community Colleges recently agreed to allow graduates of any one of Seattle's three community colleges to enroll in Argosy's bachelor's degree completion programs in psychology and business.

Copetas, Western Washington's admissions director, said regardless of whether students plan to transfer to public or private schools, paying attention to details will help prevent spending more time or money than necessary.

"Students need to start making career choices earlier," Copetas said.

Allen, 22, a general-studies major who has attended North Seattle Community College since 1999, says he hopes to complete his associate's degree this fall. Allen is now seeking transfer admission to Central Washington University for sometime in 2004.

"It's been pretty straightforward," said Allen, who added that he's being careful to fulfill all transfer requirements. "Basically, all of the classes I'm taking now will be transferable. That definitely is something I've thought about."

Robert Marshall Wells: 206-464-2607 or rwells@seattletimes.com