As the cost of college has soared, many students have opted for a community college over a four-year program.
Four out of five community college students say they plan to transfer to a university to earn a bachelor’s degree, but the number of such transfers has declinedsince the start of the pandemic.
That transfer process can be tricky. Sometimes credits don’t transfer as expected, and the disruption of adjusting to a whole new kind of campus life can be hard for some.
But this weekend, Christopher Newport University and Virginia Peninsula Community College signed a deal to ease that transition and bolster transfers between the two.
“This is different because we start working with these students early - like in their first year of enrollment,” said Lisa Duncan-Raines, CNU’s vice president for enrollment and student success. “We really get to know these students early and we strengthen that transfer process for them.”
VPCC students accepted into the new Bridge Program will be able to meet with a CNU faculty adviser to help them plan their studies and choose their classes before they transfer.
They’ll also get priority for university housing and access to things like CNU sports games, arts events on campus and certain CNU facilities while they’re still attending VPCC.
“The goal was to help students get acclimated to that four-year institution while they were still completing their community college education,” said VPCC president Towuanna Porter Brannon.
According to data released by the federal Department of Education last November, nearly 80% of community college students say they plan to transfer to a four-year program and earn a bachelor’s degree. But only 16% are able to do so within six years.
Right now, between 50 and 70 students transfer annually from VPCC to CNU. The university says it hopes to up those numbers with the new program.
Higher education experts say many choose to start at a community college because of the difference in cost.
At VPCC, an in-state student would pay roughly $2,500 for a 15-credit semester.
Tuition for the same schedule at CNU would cost north of $10,000, according to the university’s website.
“(We) are really committed to making higher education a lot more accessible to students on the Peninsula,” Porter Brannon said.
