"Our Goal Is Not Simply to Get the Students Into UC Campuses, but to Get Them Out as Well"

"Santa Monica College's success at guiding students toward four-year institutions captures the opportunity that might be available if more community colleges, in California and elsewhere, stressed a culture of transfer. SMC's former president, Richard Moore, established transfer as a priority in the 1980s, and the school has now developed a thick array of services to encourage it among its 30,000 credit-taking students.
"The school's class schedule gives students many chances to obtain the courses that four-year institutions require. With 45 full-time and 70 part-time counselors, it provides extensive guidance on the transfer process, scheduling not only general workshops and regular visits from 'admission evaluators' at nearby four-year colleges, but also sessions on the specific requirements of each system. Near the application deadline in the fall, it staffs 'panic rooms' for students completing their applications. 'We sit with them, we hold their hands, we read their essay,' said Brenda Benson, the college's dean of counseling and retention."


Ronald Brownstein at The Atlantic discusses attempts in California to increase transfers of students from community colleges to universities.