LCCC, other educational institutions, working to address 'credit loss'
The president of the Luzerne County Community College said credit loss was a problem at the Scranton-based school until articulation agreements and dual admission programs were established with other schools.
Credit loss — when community college classes don't transfer to another school — is one of the key culprits keeping students from earning a bachelor's degree. According to reporting by The Associated Press, one in seven students who started down that path in 2016 achieved the feat.
Advocates say the transfer process is designed for schools but often confuses students.
"Credit loss can be very distressing and very discouraging," said Tom Leary, president of Luzerne County Community College (LCCC), which has branch campuses in Shamokin and Watsontown. "We have worked very hard to address that. One of my goals during my tenure as president has been to establish really good relationships with four-year colleges. We have instituted a program called dual admissions and established agreements with four-year colleges and universities that allow students in their freshman year to be in a transfer program. If you're in that program, you're guaranteed full transfer of credits, your choice of a major and scholarships."
In 2021, LCCC and Susquehanna University signed an agreement that offered guaranteed admission for LCCC students to pursue their bachelor's degrees at Susquehanna. LCCC students who submit a letter of intent to enter Susquehanna prior to completing 30 transferable credit hours have the following benefits: Guaranteed admission into a parallel bachelor's degree program with third-year status at Susquehanna upon completion of their associate in arts or science degree; eligibility for an academic scholarship from Susquehanna of up to $32,000 per year based on their grade point average at the time of application; and eligibility for an additional $5,000 scholarship from Susquehanna per year if students are members of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society.
Leary said LCCC has agreements with other schools in Pennsylvania, including Bloomsburg University, a campus of Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania; Penn State, and Marywood University, among others. They are working on agreements with other colleges, including Bucknell University.
Leary said the report from The Associated Press and National Student Clearinghouse is misleading.
"Many students have the intention when they enroll in a community college that they are looking for a certificate, diploma or associate's degree that will give them the sufficient skills to go into the workforce," said Leary. "It's not surprising to me that many students are not pursuing a bachelor's degree, or, if they are, they're doing it on a reduced enrollment basis. Students are going to be working and potentially pursuing a bachelor's degree (on a limited schedule)."
Local effort
Dr. Lenaire Ahlum, founder and executive director of the Susquehanna Valley Community Education Project (SVCEP), and Dr. Carl Jensen, a professor emeritus of intelligence and security studies at The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, and an SVCEP board member, submitted a joint statement in response to The Associated Press article.
The SVCEP, which is working toward establishing a community college in the Valley, is partnered with Marywood University to ensure an associate degree coursework articulates and is transferable, and they are forging a partnership with the Northumberland County Career and Technology Center that will focus on certificates and certifications in skills and trades.
"Community colleges can do three things to ensure that their students, many of whom are juggling jobs and families, don't waste their time and money on useless credits: They can enter into guaranteed transfer articulation agreements; provide rigorous student advising; and ensure complete transparency," Ahlum and Jensen said.
Community colleges must be fully transparent with students, they said.
"They must be upfront and honest in articulating which classes will transfer and which ones won't," said Ahlum and Jensen. "They also should be willing to suggest alternatives to two-year programs. For example, a certificate or apprenticeship may serve a student's needs better than a degree. The college must therefore be familiar enough with the community and the career ambitions of the students they serve so they can align them with their best prospects for success.
Of the 230-plus higher education institutions in Pennsylvania, the 15 community colleges enroll nearly 40 percent of undergraduates across the commonwealth and are the primary education delivery system for adult learners over 25. Yet they receive the least investment, they said.
"The tuition is affordable, avoiding burdensome student loan debt and because they are close to home and work, transportation costs are minimized. Students and their advisors can use the PA TRAC portal that connects articulation between community colleges and the four-year universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (at www.patrac.org)," they said.
Pennsylvania's community college coalition was the first member of the nationwide Voluntary Framework of Accountability, demonstrating commitment to improvements that yield successful outcomes while being accountable to both legislatures and peers within the sector, they said.
"Community colleges are proven workforce generators, aligning programming and learners with local business and industry employment vacancies. Across the commonwealth, funds stream through the local workforce development boards to their regional community colleges," they said.
Director: 'Be transparent'
Lackawanna College Sunbury Center Director Phil Campbell said avoiding credit loss comes down to the enrollment process. Lackawanna takes a "very personal approach" to discussions with students, he said.
"We're as transparent and upfront with students as we can be," said Campbell. "If we get a student who says they want to do a few classes and transfer to another school, we ask what they want to do at the other school. Have you talked to the other school yet? That's an important step. Talk to that other school, and get an idea of what classes will count toward your requirements. The last thing I want you to do is to take classes and waste money. That leaves a bad taste in their mouth about Lackawanna. That's not good for the student, that's not good for Lackawanna. It's up to the admissions advisor in the enrollment process to help guide them through them."
Lackawanna "does not allow you to guess what the next step is," said Campbell.
It is not uncommon for Lackawanna to have transfer agreements with other schools, including community colleges. They have articulation agreements with Commonwealth University-Bloomsburg, Susquehanna and Lycoming College, said Campbell.
"It's not unheard of for us to work with schools like Luzerne to have students get their associate's degree there and finish their bachelor's degree here," said Campbell.
Bucknell's College Scholars
Caro Mercado, associate dean of admissions and director of partnerships who oversees the Bucknell Community College Scholars Program (BCCSP), said the program is a "model of excellence that serves an oft-disregarded higher education pursuing population." She also provided this advice to community college students who are looking to transfer.
"I do support that academic advising is critical for a more successful and seamless transition to a four-year institution," said Mercado. "In addition, it requires graduates from community colleges to do their homework on the institutions to which they are applying. This would include making a campus visit, speaking with department chairs, soliciting transfer credit equivalencies with the registrar's office; also understanding what types of courses would most likely transfer as major credit versus elective credits."
Mercado said in her review of transfer applications that many community college students have taken classes in their initial exploration at community college that will have no continued value at another institution.
"As I share even with our BCCSP scholars, it is imperative that they meet with our team in the registrar after our summer program to continually review their proposed course schedules and even contemplate a delay in applying to Bucknell so that they are not facing having to overload here as a student or face the possibility of delaying their degree attainment given the cost of attendance," said Mercado.
