Guaranteed admission for transfers

VCU has just become one of the few universities in the state to provide guaranteed admission for graduates of the Virginia Community College System.

The agreement, signed April 12, takes effect immediately.

“It helps us promote a greater working relationship with the community-college system,” said Delores Taylor, director of the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. “Also, it helps the students who are going into the community-college system to hopefully have a seamless transition from community college to VCU.”

The agreement stipulates that any transfer student will be admitted to the university as long as they meet certain requirements such as maintaining a 2.5 cumulative grade-point average and enrolling at the university within one year of completing the transfer-oriented associate degree.

Donna Brodd, vice provost for Academic Affairs, said she expects transfer students to have little difficulty with the transition.

“We know a lot of them are very good students,” she said. “We already have the data that says students who come in with a degree have a very good graduation rate from VCU.”

Even with the agreement, transfer students may need to fulfill additional requirements for specific majors such as the arts, nursing and dental hygiene. One benefit this agreement gives transfer students, Brodd said, is increased outreach between the state’s community colleges and the university.

“This will give us an opportunity to better serve students who want to go to VCU and help them while they still have time to take courses,” she said.

Last year the General Assembly passed the Higher Education Restructuring Act, which gave the state’s universities more autonomy as well as required them to develop policies with the state’s community college system.

Taylor said she hopes the agreement will encourage more students from community colleges to enroll at the university. Last fall, 966 students transferred to VCU from Virginia’s community colleges.

The plan, Brodd said, also sends a message to transfer students.

“One of the reasons is to make sure students of community colleges are aware that four-year institutions are open to them and VCU really wants Virginia community-college students,” she said.

The university will also provide 10 need-based, in-state tuition and fees scholarships for transfer students who maintain at least a 2.75 GPA. Other universities in the state that implement guaranteed-admission plans are Longwood University, Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia, which also signed a guaranteed-admission agreement April 12.