Glendale Community College honored for championing transfer degrees
Glendale Community College was once again recognized for its efforts in awarding associate degrees for transfer and moving students onto four-year colleges.
The Campaign for College Opportunity, a nonprofit policy and research organization, announced Tuesday it will honor Glendale College for a third consecutive year by naming it a 2018 Champion of Higher Education for Excellence in Transfer.
The official ceremony will take place in Los Angeles on Dec. 4. Glendale was one of 12 California community colleges lauded, while four Cal State Universities were also celebrated for their acceptance of transfer students.
The Campaign for College Opportunity has been honoring colleges for three years and Glendale has earned acclaim each time as the school has tried to streamline the transfer process.
Glendale shined in some categories in regards to transfer degrees and fell toward the middle in other areas using data from the 2016-17 school year among the 114 colleges surveyed.
The school was third in the state in percentage (55%) of transfer degrees awarded out of total associate degrees, was No. 33 in total transfer degrees earned (467), No. 45 in growth (72) of transfer degrees from the previous year, and No. 57 in ratio of full-time students to transfer degrees awarded (1.56 per 50).
Glendale College alumnus Alexander Miralis is one of the school’s success stories. The former Glendale High basketball star earned his transfer degree in June before heading to UC Irvine this fall.
“GCC definitely made me grow up as a student fast,” Miralis said. “The academics were very challenging. So, when I got to Irvine, I realized that the classes weren’t as challenging. They were on the same level as GCC.”
According to the Campaign for College Opportunity, only 4% of California community college students transfer after two years, while 25% do so in four years and 38% in six years.
Glendale College offers associate of arts and associate of science transfer degrees, which are geared toward transferring to Cal State Universities.
They offer a clearer route to transfer to the CSU system than a normal associate degree and a student must complete a minimum of 60 CSU-transferrable semester units, post at least a 2.0 GPA, complete specific general education requirements and at least 18 units in a major.
“Transfer is often a maze of barriers that delay far too many students from earning their degrees,” said Michele Siqueiros, president of the Campaign for College Opportunity. “The associate degree for transfer cuts through the maze to offer a more streamlined transfer process.”
