Cleveland State Community College strikes dual transfer deal

Friday, January 1, 1904

photo A sign is shown at the main entrance to Cleveland State Community College in Cleveland, Tennessee
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ELIGIBILITY FOR DUAL ADMISSIONSFor students who:• Plan to pursue both an associate's and a bachelor's degree;• Meet admission criteria for Cleveland State Community College;• Have earned 29 or fewer college-level semester hours and a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 in Cleveland State's coursework; cumulative 2.75 GPA for the Associate of Science in Teaching.Source: Cleveland State Community CollegeBY THE NUMBERS• 38: Dual admission agreements in the Tennessee Board of Regents System• 4: Chattanooga State agreements• 3: Cleveland State agreementsSource: Tennessee Board of Regents

Students at Cleveland State Community College now can transfer more easily to Tennessee Tech University under a new dual admissions agreement.

"It gives students an opportunity to go ahead and commit to transferring from Cleveland State to Tennessee Tech," said Jerry Faulkner, vice president for academic affairs at Cleveland State. "Essentially they become admitted to both institutions."

The Tennessee Board of Regents system first implemented dual agreements in 2009 with an agreement between Nashville State Community College and Tennessee State University, said Paula Short, vice chancellor for academic affairs. The regents system includes 13 community colleges, 27 technology centers and six universities.

"We introduced it with the idea of being a mechanism for retention, particularly for incoming freshmen who may start at a community college but then don't complete either that degree or move on to university," she said.

Then the Legislature passed the Complete College Tennessee Act of 2010. It required universities to eliminate remedial classes and provided money to support a two-plus-two system, in which students begin college at a two-year school, then transfer to a university to complete their degrees.

All of the Board of Regents universities have dual admission agreements with up to six community colleges, Short said.

Chattanooga State Community College has four agreements and Cleveland State three, including with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

"It gives a student the assurance," said Michael Stokes, vice president of student services at Cleveland State. "They get earlier contact with the university and extra assistance in getting acclimated into their new environment earlier."

The benefits include saving money by attending a community college for their first two years, guaranteed acceptance to Tennessee Tech if they meet admission standards, access to libraries and advisement from both institutions, Stokes said.

The program is open to students starting in the spring semester.