Articulation Agreement Research Articles

Community College Articulation Agreement Websites: Students’ Suggestions for New Academic Advising Software Features

ABSTRACT Articulation agreements provide more transparency about how community college courses will transfer and fulfill university requirements. However, the literature displays conflicting results on whether articulation agreements improve transfer-related outcomes; perhaps one contributor to these conflicting research results is the subpar user experience of articulation agreement reports and the websites that host them. Accordingly, we surveyed and interviewed California community college transfer students to gather their suggestions for new academic-advising-related software features for the ASSIST website. ASSIST is California’s official centralized repository of articulation agreement reports between public California community colleges and universities. We analyzed the open-ended survey and interview data using structural coding and thematic analysis. We identified four themes around students’ software feature suggestions for ASSIST: (a) features that automate laborious academic advising tasks, (b) features to reduce ambiguity with articulation agreements, (c) features to mitigate mistakes in term-by-term course planning, and (d) features to facilitate online advising from advisors and student peers.

Understanding the landscape of community college transfer in North Carolina

AbstractBeginning with the revision of the existing Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA) in 2014, North Carolina policymakers have implemented several articulation agreements that create structured pathways between two‐ and four‐year colleges. The purpose of this article is to detail the demographic makeup and post‐transfer outcomes of transfer students in North Carolina. This article will help policymakers and practitioners identify areas in which they can help facilitate successful transfer and eventual bachelor's degree attainment.

Off the Beaten Path: Can Statewide Articulation Support Students Transferring in Nonlinear Directions?

Students who transfer between colleges risk losing credits and decreasing their chances of degree completion. Despite emerging evidence regarding the effectiveness of articulation agreements to address this challenge, it is unclear if these policies support nonlinear transfer pathways—including lateral transfer between 4-year colleges or reverse transfer to 2-year colleges. I use propensity score weighting to examine a statewide articulation agreement in Ohio that established universal credit acceptance for coursework affecting all transfers. Comparing students who completed universally transferrable courses with those who did not, I find no measurable difference in degree attainment among reverse transfers. But there is a positive association with bachelor's degree attainment among lateral transfers, which the findings suggest is related to academic major persistence.

Opportunity for all? The differential impacts of North Carolina’s revised comprehensive articulation agreement by race/ethnicity

Transfer articulation agreements are employed by institutions of higher education and state legislatures alike to improve transfer efficiency between two-year and four-year institutions. These agreements often aim both to increase transfer rates and baccalaureate degree completion and to decrease time to degree. Studies exploring the efficacy of articulation agreements find that, despite being successful at decreasing the number of excess credits students earned at graduation and at increasing baccalaureate degree completion, these policies often increase time to degree. While there is considerable research on articulation agreements, few studies have examined the differential impact of these policies on students of Color who, prior literature has shown, experience barriers to realizing their baccalaureate degree aspirations. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the impact of North Carolina’s statewide articulation agreement varied by a student’s racial/ethnic identity when examining two-year post-transfer baccalaureate degree completion, time-to-degree completion, and excess credit accumulation.

Early Effects of North Carolina’s Comprehensive Articulation Agreement on Credit Accumulation Among Community College Transfer Students

Community college transfer pathways, whereby students begin their postsecondary enrollment at a 2-year institution, are an increasingly popular option for students looking to complete a bachelor's degree. Designed to increase transfer efficiency, articulation agreements between community colleges and 4-year institutions provide structured pathways for students to transition between colleges while minimizing excess credits earned and time to degree. This study examines the early effects of North Carolina’s statewide credit articulation agreement on students’ credit-earning behaviors. Using difference-in-differences and event study analyses, we use administrative data from the 16 University of North Carolina (UNC) System institutions to examine how the implementation of the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA) impacts credit accumulation for students transferring from North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) institutions into the UNC system. We find that, in the first 4 years after implementation, the CAA decreased credit accumulation upon graduation by two to five credits for some students who were enrolled in CAA-eligible degree programs. Additionally, we found that the policy had a delayed effect with no discernable reduction in credit accumulation until 1–2 years after policy implementation.

Impact of Articulation Agreements on Student Transfer between Higher Education Institutions: A Case Study of a Cybersecurity Program

ABSTRACT Cybersecurity education has grown exponentially over the past decade. This growth occurred at all levels of education – from high schools to community colleges to four-year universities. At the same time, renewed interest in helping students transfer between higher education institutions has resulted in calls from policy makers and higher education leaders to create seamless pathways for students. Aligning cybersecurity education with changes in the transfer landscape, a case study was conducted to provide a framework for understanding how to improve services to cybersecurity transfer students. The case study involved four components: a review of articulation agreement literature, a review of processes used in the authors’ home institutions, a review of our experiences with the cybersecurity articulation agreement process, and recommendations for future articulation agreements.

Exploring Influences of Policy Collisions on Transfer Student Access: Perspectives From Street-Level Bureaucrats

States and institutions increasingly rely on articulation agreements to streamline vertical transfer, although the effectiveness of those policies on transfer student outcomes remains unclear. To better understand this effectiveness, we explored a partnership between the College of Engineering at a mid-Atlantic research university and two community colleges located within the same state. We interviewed engineering faculty and academic advisors (i.e., the street-level bureaucrats who implement policy) to explore how an articulation agreement influences processes and policies related to coursework transfer. Our results revealed complexities in the implementation of the articulation policy as it collides with an enrollment management university policy that differs in purpose. Their collision has challenging implications for transfer students and for the faculty and advisors responsible for interfacing with those students.

THE FETAL UROLOGY SOCIETY ARTICULATION AGREEMENT ON THE EVALUATION AND FRAMING OF PRENATAL HYDRONEPHROSIS

THE FETAL UROLOGY SOCIETY ARTICULATION AGREEMENT ON THE EVALUATION AND FRAMING OF PRENATAL HYDRONEPHROSIS

Balancing Clarity, Rigor, and Access: Academic Transfer in Social Work Education

Given the rising cost of higher education, many students begin their academic career in community college. For social work students, this can be a more affordable path to a BSW degree and potential eligibility for advanced standing. This administrative note describes the impact of one state's program-to-program transfer articulation agreement on three social work programs that created a viable transfer pathway for students. Statewide agreements can facilitate a seamless transfer for economically vulnerable students, many of whom come from the communities they will eventually serve. They also present challenges for program autonomy and raise questions for accredited social work education. The authors conclude with recommendations for social work education to promote a more diverse student body and clearer pathways for students who transfer.

Mind the gap: Chinese diploma student views of bridges and barriers to transferring into a Canadian university

ABSTRACTOne common modality of transnational higher education partnerships is programme articulations. These agreements typically include 1 + 3 or 2 + 2 or 3 + 2 arrangements, whereby students study in their home institution first, and then transfer to complete their degree studies in a partner host institution. In this type of programme articulation agreement, the transfer of students from the home institution to the host institution is not necessarily guaranteed, with many steps and challenges in the students’ decision-making process. While there may be an expectation of articulation between countries and institutions when an agreement is signed, relationships, information and communication to support student transfer from home to host institution can be underestimated. This quantitative study examines a programme articulation arrangement between a Chinese polytechnic and a Canadian university, specifically through a student view. Findings identify barriers to articulation and also the information Chinese students identify as necessary to support their decision-making on whether to progress from a diploma (China) to a degree (Canada), and what types and frequencies of communication are expected.

Public Health Program Articulation in New Mexico

The relationship between universities and community colleges has grown and changed dramatically since the significant rise in the number of community colleges in the United States in the 1970s. New Mexico State University (NMSU) and Doña Ana Community College (DACC), which is also part of NMSU, are uniquely partnered to address the needs of students and residents of southern New Mexico. DACC offers an Associate of Applied Science in Public Health (AAS in PH), while NMSU offers a Bachelor of Public Health (BPH). To date, two articulation agreements have been established, over a 10-year period, to provide structure for how and which AAS in Public Health courses would transfer to the BPH degree program and satisfy requirements at NMSU, in general, and the BPH degree, specifically. Information is provided to explain how these articulation agreements evolved, the key principles and components of the articulation agreements, outcomes, and lessons learned. This articulation agreement process has proven beneficial for students, faculty, and the public health profession overall; it has specifically helped develop and sustain an “educated citizenry” as well as a well-qualified public health workforce in our predominantly rural and border state in keeping with the Institute of Medicine recommendations. This collaborative effort provides a framework for other colleges and universities located in similar underserved communities.

Community College Public Health

The Healthy People 2020 initiative outlines the U.S. Department of Health’s vision for improving the health of all Americans and recognizes the ability of community colleges to aid in accomplishing this vision by providing cost-effective, comprehensive public health education. Developing a 2-year degree program in public health is not without its challenges, including ensuring that the curriculum is broad enough in scope to serve as a foundation for students’ continuing in their education and content-rich enough to train them adequately to enter the workforce with the associate degree. Here, we present the efforts to meet these challenges in the establishment of an associate of applied science degree in public health. We review the development of both the public health core curriculum and the courses designed to meet the learning outcomes of that curriculum. We present an example of an articulation agreement with a 4-year university and lay-out potential future directions of the associate program.

Grades and Withdrawal Rates in Cell Biology and Genetics Based Upon Institution Type for General Biology and Implications for Transfer Articulation Agreements

ABSTRACTGeneral biology courses (for majors) are often transferred from one institution to another. These courses must prepare students for upper division courses in biology. In Colorado, a Biology Transfer Articulation Agreement that includes general biology has been created across the state. An evaluation was conducted of course grades in two upper division biology courses at University of Colorado Denver (UCD) (N = 2129) based upon course grades in general biology and the type of institution where general biology was taken (2-year school, 4-year, in-residence at UCD, Advanced Placement [AP] credit, College Level Examination Program [CLEP] credit, or International Baccalaureate [IB] credit). Students who transferred general biology credits received lower grades in upper division biology courses and withdrew from upper division biology courses more frequently. The root causes for these disparities in student outcomes should be investigated further using demographic data and qualitative data. The study should be expanded to all Colorado institutions to ensure the effectiveness of the Biology Transfer Articulation Agreement.

Public and tribal community college institutional review boards: A national descriptive analysis

ABSTRACTIt is currently unknown how many Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) exist at community colleges. This study investigates the percentage of public and Tribal community colleges that have active IRBs. It also examines the potential relationships between states that allow community colleges to confer baccalaureate degrees, or that have articulation agreements, and community college IRBs. Data were drawn from the United States Department of Health and Human Services in conjunction with the American Association of Community Colleges and state department of education websites in order to create a national snapshot of active and deactivated IRBs at these institutions. It was most common for a state to have at least one IRB at public community colleges. Conversely, the majority of states with Tribal community colleges did not have IRBs. Further, while no association was found between states that allow community colleges to confer baccalaureate degrees, states with an articulation agreement were more likely to have an active IRB at their community colleges. Trends potentially unique to community college IRB implementation appeared evident, including one IRB to oversee a district or state of community colleges. Future research is needed to clarify the rationales behind these decisions. Creating an IRB is one way in which community colleges might claim a more active leadership role in being both subject and producer of scholarship in the literature.

Implementing Quantitative Literacy at Southwestern Community College, North Carolina

There is a time when articulation agreements between universities and community colleges come to an end. When this happened in North Carolina, there was great hope that not only would the mathematics classes that were offered in the North Carolina Community College System be revamped with respect to overlapping content, but also that mathematics classes would be developed that have a clear connection between what is seen in the world and what is taught in the classroom especially for non-STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-related studies) students. This paper describes how Southwestern Community College (SCC) implemented a quantitative literacy class as it is now described in the newly adopted articulation agreement between the University of North Carolina (UNC) System and the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS), why such a class was chosen to be in that articulation agreement from the standpoint of SCC, and the success that was seen from such an endeavor. Results of preliminary statistical analysis suggest that students enrolled in the new Quantitative Literacy (MAT 143) course performed better on a quantitative reasoning assessment, on average, than their peers enrolled in similar traditional courses at

Editors' Notes

Editors' Notes

From Lampitt to Libraries: Formulating State Standards to Embed Information Literacy across Colleges

In September 2007, the Lampitt Law was passed in the state of New Jersey, formalizing the requirements for students transferring between institutions. This led to a 2008 statewide articulation agreement to facilitate the seamless transfer of students’ courses and credits between county colleges and four-year public institutions of higher education. In response to this articulation agreement, three professional librarian groups combined to create information literacy standards utilizing progression as a core principle. The Information Literacy Progression Standards were launched in January 2010. They consist of a four-page document comprising an introduction; the standards defining competencies at a Novice/Introductory (Year 1) level and at a Gateway/Developing (Year 2) level; and some sample assignments demonstrating the Standards in Practice. This article outlines how the Standards were developed and successfully disseminated and implemented. As well as describing the creation of the Standards, the article highlights initiatives at several academic institutions where librarians have attempted to address information literacy at an organizational level, utilizing successful collaborations with faculty and administrators.

Two-Plus-Two Construction Management Programs and Articulation Agreements

To meet workforce needs of U.S. industries, colleges and universities nationwide are increasingly being asked to develop better 2 + 2 programs and articulation agreements to guide a smooth transfer of students between 2-year and 4-year institutions. However, creating a good articulation agreement can be a challenging task. This article presents two case studies of formal articulation agreements between a 4-year and two 2-year construction management programs. In the case studies, the two articulation agreements provided means to formalize the transfer process for coursework and facilitate the transition for students from one campus to the other. The well designed matrices of course equivalencies allowed students to complete part of their coursework at either the 4-year or 2-year institution and earn both associate and bachelor's degrees within four years. By performing statistical analysis and comparisons of 2 + 2 transfer and non-transfer students’ grade point average (GPA), this research found that in both cases the transfer students had maintained good academic performance in the 4-year program when compared with non-transfer students. This was deemed as a positive indicator for the success of the two 2 + 2 programs and articulation agreements in keeping the continuity of coursework and preparing students for higher level courses.

2+2 Statewide Articulation Policy, Student Persistence, and Success in Florida Universities

The reported study in this paper examined the continuing viability of Florida's 2+2 articulation agreement by comparing academic success and persistence among Florida public community college graduates (n = 1,738) and native (n = 874) juniors at three universities. Discriminant analysis yielded statistically significant differences. Transfer students graduated with fewer lower level courses in upper division and fewer cumulative credit hours than native students. Discriminant analysis did not yield appreciable differences in the final grade point averages of student graduates, indicating that community college transfer students performed just as well academically as native students. Chi-square tests of independence indicated that a greater percentage of transfers dropped out prior to graduation. These findings support the conclusion that community college transfers are academically competitive, but they may benefit from retention services and programs that engender student engagement.

On the evolution of consonant harmony: the case of secondary articulation agreement

Consonant harmony involves long-distance featural assimilation, or agreement, of consonants across intervening segments. Current correspondence-based analyses of such sound patterns assume that they originate in the cognitive exigencies of articulatory planning, either synchronically, through the functional grounding of the constraints responsible, or diachronically, whereby processing factors incrementally shape the lexicon over time. This paper challenges the validity of this assumption as an all-purpose functional explanation for the full range of long-distance consonant agreement patterns by demonstrating that a variety of diachronic trajectories underlies their emergence and evolution. Focusing on the comparatively rare phenomenon ofsecondary articulation agreement, the evolutionary histories of three cases are examined: (labio)velarisation agreement in Pohnpeian (Oceanic), palatalisation agreement in Karaim (Turkic) and pharyngealisation agreement in Tsilhqot'in (Athabaskan). These histories provide explanations for a range of synchronic properties of the systems in question, some of which are problematic for restrictive typologies of consonant harmony.