The South Carolina Commission on Higher Education has awarded a multi-year contract to AcademyOne, Inc. to improve college transfer and articulation in South Carolina. AcademyOne will develop a South Carolina electronic web portal to assist students and support college and university staff with tools that make it easier to transfer credit and evaluate how prior coursework will transfer among public South Carolina colleges and universities. In May of 2008, Pennsylvania launched a custom e-portal developed by AcademyOne to improve credit transfer among its higher education institutions.
South Carolina is implementing an ambitious, multi-year approach to address credit transfer. Across the nation, handling a high volume of transfer of credit requests and the myriad administrative tasks that accompany such requests can prove to be burdensome and costly for postsecondary institutions. Factors that contribute to this trend include the growing popularity of online courses, increased population mobility, and economic considerations that motivate adult learners to return to school in order to earn a degree.
State higher education agencies like the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education are keenly aware of such changing trends and the implications for students, institutions, and the economy. “States that tackle these trends head-on and develop a coordinated approach to college transfer and evaluation of prior coursework are going to be ahead of the game when it comes to workforce and economic development. The investment will ultimately save money and provide improved service to citizens,” says Dave Moldoff, AcademyOne’s founder and CEO.
South Carolina has 33 public postsecondary higher education institutions, including 13 four-year universities, 16 two-year technical colleges and four two-year regional campuses which collectively serve over 180,000 students. In addition, over 11,000 students take college courses annually while enrolled in high school. “Especially in times of fiscal exigencies such as those South Carolina is experiencing presently, we must implement cost effective practices that yield more efficiency and enable students to make the most effective choices toward degree completion in order to avoid additional expenses and delays,” says Dr. Gail M. Morrison, Deputy Director and Director of the Division of Academic Affairs & Licensing at the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education. CollegeTransfer.net offers a comprehensive and national infrastructure to support the transfer of credit. “The fact that South Carolina and Pennsylvania elected to adopt a comprehensive technological solution indicates that higher education takes the issues surrounding transfer and articulation seriously and is moving to put proactive plans in place,” comments Moldoff. Ultimately, AcademyOne’s systems will help to provide flexibility and more options for students and families, clearer and more cost effective paths to a college degree, and more timely entrance into the workforce.
Via SC Commision on Higher Education
