Clark helps MnSCU students transfer credits
The St. Cloud Times reports:
Michael Jamnick learned it can be tricky to transfer colleges, even for students going from one Minnesota school to another.
Students like Jamnick, who goes to St. Cloud State University, would find it easier to transfer within the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system under a proposal from state Sen. Tarryl Clark, DFL-St. Cloud.
Clark's bill would require MnSCU officials to draft a five-year plan to simplify the transfer of course credits between MnSCU schools, and to make students more aware of which credits can be transferred.
A state Senate committee gave the bill a favorable reception Tuesday, though its path forward in the House is not yet clear.
A report last month by Minnesota's Legislative Auditor said "more work is needed" to create a "seamless" process for credit transfers within MnSCU.
Jamnick told senators Tuesday that he transferred to St. Cloud State from Vermillion Community College in Ely. He'd taken an introductory English course at Vermillion, but when he arrived at St. Cloud, he was required to take a similar English class with a different course number.
"That meant extra tuition paid and time spent on a course I didn't need to have," Jamnick said.
Jamnick's situation is becoming more common. From 1999 to 2008, the number of students transferring within the MnSCU system increased by 52 percent, said Linda Baer, MnSCU's senior vice chancellor for academic and student affairs.
MnSCU universities already accept the vast majority of transfer credits - 91 percent of them in fiscal year 2007, MnSCU spokeswoman Melinda Voss said Tuesday. Baer told lawmakers that MnSCU officials would work to implement any changes required by Clark's bill if it becomes law.
Making it simpler to transfer from one Minnesota school to another was one purpose for creating MnSCU in 1995, Clark said.
"It shouldn't matter where you are in the system," Clark said. "Everyone should have the same criteria."
Not all Minnesota schools would be affected by Clark's measure, as it doesn't address transferring credits from the University of Minnesota system to a MnSCU school.
The Senate Higher Education Committee approved Clark's bill Tuesday, advancing it to the Senate floor for final consideration.
The bill's House version is sponsored by Rep. Larry Haws, DFL-St. Cloud. No hearings have been scheduled for it yet in that chamber, Haws said Tuesday.
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