Improving baccalaureate degree attainment for transfer students continues to be a key topic across the nation. The Associate Degree for Transfer is the latest attempt to improve outcomes. This quantitative study examines the effectiveness of the Associate Degree for Transfer pathway program as compared to other transfer pathway programs over a…

Over the past year, the COVID-19 global pandemic has highlighted the critical role that health professionals play in our society. This report looks closely at ADT [Associate Degree for Transfer] awards in health fields and discusses practices and challenges relayed by administrators at campuses with high rates of ADT conferral and acceptance in…

Transfer from California's community colleges to its public universities has long been central to the state's higher education system. Though most of the 2.2 million community college students intend to transfer, fewer than half do so within six years of their initial enrollment. A low transfer rate is bad news for California. The state's economy…

The introduction of SB-1440 in 2010, also known as the Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act, appeared to be an opportunity for California educators and policy makers to address the achievement gap among community college students with the introduction of the streamlined associate degree for transfer (ADT) (Padilla, 2010). If implemented…

The most important components of an academic institution are the educational programs it offers. California Education Code and accreditation standards emphasize the essential nature of a college's educational programs to that college's existence, and often a college's programs reflect the individual personality of the college and the uniqueness of…

The purpose of this explanatory parallel mixed methods study was to identify the perceived barriers and success strategies that students experience when pursuing a California associate degree for transfer (ADT). Quantitative data about students enrolled in the ADT cohort was retrieved from the district data management system and the qualitative…

Student transfer processes from the California Community Colleges (CCC) to the California State University (CSU) have been simplified somewhat over the past few years, but they remain complex and confusing for most transfer students, according to students, administrators, and staff at several community colleges and CSU campuses. Transfer…

Our new report, "Keeping the Promise: Going the Distance on Transfer Reform," has found significant improvements in the creation of a seamless transfer pathway between California Community Colleges and the California State Universities (CSU) since the passage of historic transfer reform legislation, SB1440, six years ago. This report…

In 2010, California's then-governor Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 1440, called the "Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act" (Padilla, 2010), into law. This bill mandated that the state's 112 community colleges (CCCs) develop a new type of associate degree, an "associate degree for transfer," that specifically prepares a…

Because of their commitment to the voluntary measurement and improvement of student learning outcomes, colleges and universities that are members of the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) have been at the forefront of the national shift from teacher-centered to student-centered learning. The institutions participating in the CIC Degree…

The Rostrum is a quarterly publication of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) The Need for full Time faculty (again) by Jane Patton; (2) Reading May Be the Key to Unlocking Basic Skills Success by Janet Fulks; (3) Diversity Institute on the Right Track by Beth Smith; (4)…

Designed as a forum for the exchange and dissemination of ideas and viewpoints of California community college faculty, this journal offers six brief articles on various aspects of 2-year college education. In "Academic Standards and the Open Door," Leon Baradat asserts that community colleges must reverse the trend toward decreased…

In response to state-level concern about the efficacy of the transfer function of community colleges, this report summarizes the progress made since 1984 in strengthening transfer and articulation between the community colleges in California and the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU). Part I offers background…