This year, AACRAO will be focusing on two major initiatives relating to transfer – updating the Joint Statement on the Transfer and Award of Credit and the design of a Transfer Student Bill of Rights. Both projects were announced at the 2016 AACRAO Technology and Transfer Conference.
The Joint Statement on the Transfer and Award of Credit was originally written in 2001, in conjunction with the American Council on Education (ACE) and the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Much has changed in the last 15 years, and it is time for the statement to be updated and expanded to fit the myriad of issues and policies relating to transfer students. The statement does not, for example, address online coursework, industry-granted credit, reverse transfer, or specialized accreditation. This rewrite will be a joint project between AACRAO and other higher education organizations.
Many states – Colorado, Washington, and Florida, for example – have already codified a Transfer Student Bill of Rights. However, no national bill exists. This is not a new idea - Matthew Pittinsky and Kent Hopkins wrote an op-ed in 2015 suggesting the development of one – but this year, AACRAO will take the lead on developing one with input from members and partner organizations. The Bill of Rights will be designed as the first student-facing transfer publication for AACRAO; it will focus on what the student needs to know about transferring, as well as identify what an institution should provide when providing services to transfer students.
Attendees at the conference were invited to attend a session relating to both the joint statement and the transfer student bill of rights. During the hour-long session, ideas were shared that will help shape the foundation for both of these documents. Over the next year, AACRAO will solicit feedback and comments from its constituents. The documents will be available for review at the 2017 AACRAO Annual Conference, and a final version will be released at the next Technology and Transfer Conference, scheduled for July 2017.
In addition, engage in practical and philosophical transfer discussion with your colleagues when you join the AACRAO transfer listserv.