Texas lawmakers search for ways to avoid wasted college credits

[TexasTowelie]

As four-year college degrees grow more costly in Texas, state leaders have encouraged students to consider a cheaper solution — spending the first two years at a local community college.

But many students who have heeded that advice have hit a frustrating roadblock: When they transfer to a four-year school, their course credits don't always come along with them.

Classes taken to save cash end up being a waste of money.

The problem is vexing for state lawmakers, who say they receive calls year after year from angry students and parents. An estimated two-fifths of Texas students lose all of their credits when they transfer schools, according to one advocacy group. That helps add up to about $60 million in wasted tuition payments in the state each year.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2017/02/12/texas-lawmakers-search-ways-stop-millions-wasted-college-credit-hours/

[FBaggins]

1. They should be able to fix that for state schools at least.

NC community colleges all have a list of "guaranteed transfer" courses that all state schools will accept.

I'm reasonably sure that there's a reciprocal arrangement with neighbouring states too.

[exboyfil]

2. This is very near and dear to my heart

For the final two years of both my daughters high school, they basically went to community college or the local university. In some cases I paid for the classes (when the high school had the equivalent Advanced Placement class or it was more convenient for my daughter's to take it at other times - summers, between semesters, online), and in other cases the school paid for them under PSEO (post secondary enrollment option). Neither ever took an Advanced Placement course.

In all cases I had the reciprocal agreements for the state schools in mind in every class they took. These are online guides provided by the universities showing how each class transferred. They are actually legal documents that the colleges' advisors cannot do anything about. In the case of my younger daughter I also had the same type of guide for the private college she eventually attended. In the case of the private college we also met personally with the admission's officer, and I went through each class one at a time.

My oldest daughter was able to complete her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in two years because of this approach. She is now working full time as an engineer two years before her peers. Two years of no room and board and a significant savings in tuition because the school paid for about several of her classes while in high school. Two years of retirement vestment, added vacation, and of course salary. It turned out she only had two classes that did not transfer. O e she took (C++ programming) because she was considering both state schools in engineering. The other because it was an engineering offered by the high school that would benefit her in other classes.

My youngest daughter is on track to graduate with a B.S. in Nursing 15 months after high school graduation. She actually had 75 hours of college credit in high school (she tested out of eight hours in Biology using CLEP). Not all of the credits applied towards her B.S. Nursing because she will be using some for potentially medical school in the future. Note all of her medical school required classes will be taken at a university except for the Freshman Biology because she will have at least four Biology classes past those classes, My daughter is thinking on taking her remaining medical school required classes one or two at a time while working as a nurse.

Neither of my daughter's were the smartest kids in their high school classes, and they actually did not work as hard as their peers in high school. The Advanced Placement courses do not transfer well to our state schools, and it comes down to a single test at the end of semester for credit.

[Javaman]

3. Non-transferable credits always struck me as a racket. nt