Texas Poised to Crack Down on Wasted College Credits, Offering Better Support to Transfer Students

Baleigh Zurn thought she took all the right classes to put her on track to graduate with a social work degree from her East Texas junior college this summer. But when she transferred from Kilgore Community College to the University of Texas at Arlington, a class she took at Kilgore no longer counted toward her major. Kilgore classified courses one way, UTA another. The difference meant she'd suddenly fallen behind. Zurn had to rearrange her schedule at UTA so that she could repeat the class. That meant delaying an internship by a semester and moving her expected graduation date to December. "It was really annoying because it was a freshman-level class, and you're going into it as a senior," Zurn said. "It was money and time I could have spent in a better way." Each year, Texas students spend $60 million on academic credits that end up not counting toward a major. More than half of all Texas college students start at a two-year school where tuition and fees are generally more affordable. While Zurn didn't let the setback derail her studies, many transfers lose so much momentum and slide into enough debt that they just give up. Now, Texas legislators are working to improve how the state keeps these students on track. On Monday, the House approved legislation aimed at reducing time and money spent on wasted credits. The bill, written by Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, is headed to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk for final approval. Once these students get to a four-year university, many are finding more focused support efforts aimed at helping them succeed. But only about 30 percent of students who start at a public two-year college end up with a certificate or degree within six years, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.   Continue reading...