Students who last year transferred from Connecticut’s community colleges to the University of Connecticut lost millions of dollars in credits that did not accompany them, a study has found.
The analysis, conducted by John Mullane, a counselor at Gateway Community College, takes the roughly 20 percent of credits the university said it did not accept from transfer students, and calculates the cost to those students. The loss totals at least $3 million. Students lost an average of 12 credits, equivalent to almost a full semester.
A report on the findings recommends that statewide transfer agreements be put in place to guarantee a seamless transfer of credits, which “would help to make higher education more accessible and affordable for students in Connecticut.”
The analysis pulled its data from the university’s response to a legislative committee’s report on affordability at UConn.
A 2014 report by the National Center for Education Statistics found that the average first-time student loses about 13 credits when transferring for the first time. About 39 percent of those students transfer none of their credits, 28 percent transfer some, and 32 percent transfer all.
The Associated Press quoted a University of Connecticut spokeswoman, Stephanie Reitz, as saying that the institution was looking over the analysis and planned to respond later on Thursday.
