Agreement to increase university options for students throughout California
La Jolla and Sacramento, Calif. –-National University and the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office today announced their joint effort to increase opportunities for students who begin coursework at a community college to transfer to National University to complete a baccalaureate degree.
The agreement enables a smooth transition for students at any of California’s 109 community colleges to National University. Students can transfer units earned toward an associate’s degree or lower division general education credits to National University and receive credit toward a bachelor’s degree. While the state’s public universities have this agreement in place, National University is one of a few private universities in California engaged in a similar transfer agreement.
The main beneficiaries will be the 2.5 million students currently in the community college system in California. This agreement simplifies the process for a student to transfer to National University. It also provides access to and information about the university to community college students, and to counseling and teaching faculty not familiar with National University’s innovative and relevant programs and services.
“National University is a great addition to the transfer opportunities for our students,” said Mark Drummond, chancellor of the California Community Colleges. “This gives students the power of choice. The agreement will make it easier for community college students to transfer to National University and will reduce the costs for hundreds of students.”
Students will be guaranteed admission to National University if they achieve a requisite grade point average (GPA). Units that are completed as part of a transfer plan (the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum or the California State University’s General Education Breadth pattern) or associate’s degree program for which students received a passing grade will be accepted. National University will provide pre-transfer advising to students interested in transferring and will provide all community colleges with information about preparation requirements for each of National University’s degree programs.
Through the agreement, National University and the community colleges are taking steps to make higher education more accessible to the diverse populations of California. Students in rural areas who are interested in transferring to National University will be able to take their upper division courses online if a National University campus is geographically inaccessible.
National University will waive the $60 application fee for transfer students to make entry more affordable. Additionally, to encourage students who have transferred from a California community college to complete their bachelor’s degree, National University will waive the tuition for a transfer student’s final two classes. Finally, under the agreement, National University will offer an array of scholarships, including the new California Community College Scholarship, through which each California community college is able to award $1,600 to an outstanding transfer student.
“With this agreement, we hope to become a preferred destination for California community college students who are serious about completing their bachelor’s degree with attention to academic quality and achievement of their educational goals,” said Dr. Jerry C. Lee, Chancellor of the National University System and president of National University. “Based on National University’s success with community college transfers, we are honored to make official our dedication to seeing a diverse population of community college students through their upper division coursework to graduation and degree conferral.”
For more information regarding National University’s California Community Colleges Transfer Agreement, please contact David Neville, director of information and community relations, at (858) 642-8163.
About the California Community Colleges
The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office provides guidance for the 72 districts and 109 colleges that constitute the California Community Colleges system. The largest system of higher education in the nation, the California Community Colleges system provided educational, vocational as well as transfer programs to more than 2.5 million students during academic year 2003-2004. More information about the System Office can be found at its website at www.cccco.edu.
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