UC doors open wider for transfer students

K Chico could have gone to college after high school on scholarships to universities outside of California, but she wasn't quite ready to move away from home.

She'd been told going to a community college was cheaper and just as good as starting out at a four-year university. So she enrolled at nearby Shasta College, with her sights set on transferring to the University of California. She was familiar with UC through participating in 4-H.

Chico, 21, whose given name is the letter K, is now a senior bioengineering major in her third year at UC Merced after transferring from Shasta College.

UC wants to attract more community college transfer students such as Chico as a way to reduce the costs for greater numbers of students and to increase access to four-year universities for underrepresented groups. In February, UC formed a task force with California State University and state community college leaders to increase the number of transfer students.

The savings at a community college on registration fees alone are dramatic: A student taking a full load of classes at a community college typically pays about $480 a year. At a UC it's $8,700 per year.

Finances aside, community college may be the right route for students such as Chico, who don't want to move away from home just yet. Other students may not be ready for a four-year university right out of high school or haven't decided on a major. Community college gives them a chance to prepare.

"For many students, the most economical and effective way to begin higher education is to start at a community college," said Susan Wilbur, director of undergraduate admissions at the UC Office of the President.

As part of the state's Master Plan for Higher Education, UC gives admissions priority to transfer students from California community colleges. UC offered admission to a record 19,607 transfers from state community colleges for fall 2009, 12 percent more than the 17,513 for fall 2008. Each year, about 14,000 transfers from state community colleges end up enrolling at a UC campus.

The increase in transfers is part of a plan UC Regents adopted in January to raise the transfer student enrollment target by 500 this fall.

The transfer option not only benefits California students but also contributes to the quality of the university.

"The community college transfer applicants we see are typically very well prepared," Wilbur said. "Once enrolled, their persistence rate is very high and they graduate in a timely manner. They're excellent students and they contribute in many ways to the breadth and diversity of UC's student body."

Chico was ready for college before most high school students. She graduated in three years when she was 16 through an accelerated program that included taking eighth and ninth grades together.

"You don't sleep at all," Chico said of her high school years, during which she maintained a 3.75 grade point average. She was the first in her family to go to college.

Her transition to a UC was aided by programs that all campuses have to help transfer students.

"Articulation is always something difficult," said Dustin Noji, UC Merced's assistant director of transfer initiatives. "Understanding which community college courses transfer and how that fits in with overall degree completion."

Transfer students also often need help adjusting their study habits for the rigors of UC and getting familiar with the social aspects of campus life, Noji said.

When Chico enrolled at UC Merced, which opened in 2005, there were very few transfer students on campus and an orientation process, now implemented, was not yet in place.

"Now we're making sure there are specific programs, and transfer orientation is one of the things we're doing to move toward that," Noji said.

UC Merced also created a networking group called the Student Transfer Outreach Mentorship Program (STOMP) that connects former transfer students with new ones. It's modeled after the UCLA STOMP program.

"A lot of transfer students have work experience outside of the traditional academic experience," Noji said. "Transfers are usually older students, and they can serve as mentors for younger students on campus."