Thirty California Colleges & Universities Lead the State in Supporting Transfer Students
Several California Community Colleges and California State Universities to be honored for their success at implementing critical transfer policy, the Associate Degree for Transfer, and many for closing racial/ethnic equity gaps in the transfer process.
Today, the Campaign for College Opportunity announced the California Community Colleges and California State University (CSU) campuses leading the state in supporting the transfer goals of students as the 2022 Champions of Higher Education for Excellence in Transfer. Twenty-two community college campuses are recognized for significantly increasing the number of students earning an Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT), an instrumental pathway that has streamlined the transfer process. Eight CSU campuses are recognized for enrolling ADT-earning students on an ADT guaranteed pathway. Additionally, several of the college and university honorees are excelling in closing equity gaps for Latinx and Black transfer students via the ADT. All honorees will be recognized at the 2022 Champions of Higher Education for Excellence in Transfer celebration on November 1st, 2022 at 10:00 am on Zoom.
“We celebrate the thirty California Community Colleges and California State Universities that are truly transforming transfer for students,” said Jessie Ryan, Executive Vice President of the Campaign for College Opportunity and former community college transfer student, “The ADT gives students struggling with a complicated transfer maze a clear path to success, and we commend each campus for their dedication to making this the preferred pathway for students across the state.”
Transfer from a community college to a four-year university continues to be a bureaucratic, inconsistent, and confusing maze, where students must parse through a system with varied information and requirements for each campus. Though transfer is often thought of as a two-year process, under three percent of students at the California Community Colleges transfer after two years, and only 23 percent after four years.
One key effort that is clearing the transfer pathway is the Associate Degree for Transfer. In 2010, with then-California State Senator Alex Padilla, the Campaign for College Opportunity sponsored historic transfer reform legislation that created a clear pathway for students to earn an associate degree with guaranteed admission and junior standing into the CSU system. The ADT has ensured students can transfer without accumulating excess units, saving them time and money.
To date, the California Community Colleges have awarded over 426,000 ADTs. Transfer students with an ADT who enroll in the CSU on a guaranteed pathway are more likely to graduate and accumulate fewer units, earning their bachelor’s degree in less time compared to other students.
The following colleges and universities will be honored as the 2022 Champions of Higher Education for Excellence in Transfer for working with intentionality to support students through implementation of the ADT across various metrics. Learn more
Pasadena City College
East Los Angeles College
Mt. San Antonio College
De Anza College
Riverside City College
Consumnes River College
Berkeley City College
Clovis Community College
Bakersfield College
Citrus College
College of the Desert
Los Angeles Pierce College
California State University, Fresno
California State University, Fullerton
California State University, Long Beach
California State University, Los Angeles
California State University, Stanislaus
Racial equity gaps persist in transfer rates between Latinx and Black students and their peers. For those reasons, the Campaign developed equity measures: one for community colleges that assesses how Latinx and Black students are accessing and earning ADTs relative to the campus average of all other students; and one for CSUs that assesses whether over half of their Latinx or Black undergraduate transfer students earned an ADT, and that of those ADT earners, that over half were also enrolled on a guaranteed pathway.
The following colleges and universities will be honored as 2022 Equity Champions of Higher Education for Black Students for working with intentionality to support Black students via the Associate Degree for Transfer:
Clovis Community College
Bakersfield College
Imperial Valley College
Citrus College
Monterey Peninsula College
Long Beach City College
California State University, East Bay
California State University, Fullerton
California State University, Long Beach
California State University, Los Angeles
California State University, San Bernardino
Finally, the following colleges will be honored as 2022 Equity Champions of Higher Education for Latinx Students for working with intentionality to support Latinx students through the Associate Degree for Transfer.
Berkeley City College
Bakersfield College
Clovis Community College
Foothill College
Hartnell College
Glendale Community College
Evergreen Valley College
Madera College
Long Beach City College
Citrus College
College of the Desert
Cypress College
East Los Angeles College
West Valley College
California State University, East Bay
California State University, Fresno
California State University, Fullerton
California State University, Long Beach
California State University, Los Angeles
California State University, San Bernardino
Sonoma State University
California State University, Stanislaus
For specifics on award categories and how the honorees were selected, please click here.
To view the full press release, click here!