A K LEO T H E
MONDAY, JUNE 3 to SUNDAY JUNE 9, 2013 VOLUME 108 ISSUE 85
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Giving ‘Credit Where Credit is Due’ NOELL E F UJII News Editor Next academic year, transfer students who qualify for an associate degree while they are at a four-year school will be eligible to receive that degree under the “Credit Where Credit is Due” program. The University of Hawai‘i implemented the “Credit Where Credit is Due” program on a pilot basis two years ago, first called “reverse transfer.” Through this program, the credits of students who have transferred from a community col-
“ This is a way to make sure people who have earned the degree get the degree,” Johnsrud said. Lumina, a philanthropic foundation, announced the “Credit Where Credit is Due” initiative when UH applied and was selected as one of the recipients in October 2012. Funding for the program comes from the Kresge Foundation, which is one of Lumina’s funding partners. Lumina puts out requests for proposals in particular areas of academic or educational reform. “ This is one of those reform areas because it addresses a national
This is a way to make sure people who have earned the degree get the degree.
lege without earning an associate degree but meet the requirements for one while at a four-year will transfer back to the community college, therefore telling that college the student has earned an associate degree. This program only applies to University of Hawai‘i community colleges and universities and is run through STAR. “Not every transfer student makes it to the bachelor’s degree, so this way they’ve got an associate degree to fall back on,” Executive Vice President for Academic A ffairs/Provost Linda Johnsrud said. “ They could be leaving without any credential at all. And that’s why it’s called ‘Credit Where Credit is Due.’” Under Vice President for Communit y Colleges John Morton, UH communit y colleges applied the program. T he f irst degrees under the program were awarded last year.
-Linda Johnsrud priority to have more of the working-age population having degrees and certificates,” Johnsrud said. Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at UH M ā noa Reed Dasenbrock brought the ideas that developed into “automatic admission” and “reverse credit transfer” with him when he first started at UH in 2009. These were based on ideas worked out in El Paso, Texas, between the University of Texas and El Paso Community College. Currently, UH is working on continuing to improve the computer programs that are being used to make sure they are accurate. According to Morton, the program is operating at no cost to the university by tapping into systems that are already available such as STAR. “As soon as we identify them as a student that has earned a degree we will notify them,” Morton said.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF UH MEDIA RELATIONS
“Fifty-eight percent of Hawai‘i’s community college students transfer to public universities without an associate degree,” according to the Lumina foundation website.