EDUCATIONAL POLICY COMMITTEE
Minutes

March 13, 2008

Attending: S. Birrell, H. Dettmer (Chair), K. Hall (committee staff), R. Honey, R. Ketterer, J. Kimberley (student member), J. Menninger, D. Redlawsk, and A. Segre.

Excused Absence: M. Gilbert, Philip Kutzko, M. Niño-Murcia

Guests: Emil Rinderspacher, Senior Associate Director of Admissions, and Debra Miller, Associate Director of Admissions

The minutes from February 21 were approved as written; the minutes from March 6 were approved with one correction.

Emil Rinderspacher and Debra Miller discussed transfer equivalency and articulation agreements between UI and other colleges and universities. Admissions’ involvement with transfer equivalency began in 1997 when the Provost requested the compilation of transfer equivalency data by Admissions for the new degree audit. Admissions now evaluates GE and lower-level course equivalencies while departments make decisions related to major-level courses. E. Rinderspacher noted that UI accepts more than 2,000 transfer students each year, and 30% of all first-year UI students earn some transfer credit. Another 3,000 to 4,000 UI students complete transfer work during their stay at Iowa. Traditional definitions of “transfer” students have thus changed and some students even take courses from two institutions during one semester. Dialog between UI and transfer institutions is continuous with yearly discipline-specific meetings; Kirkwood and UI have especially strong ties. EPC had a number of questions concerning the transfer student’s readiness for UI coursework.
E. Rinderspacher noted that transfer students graduate and are retained at the same rate as the native population, generally with a very similar GPA. Completion of an AA degree indicates success at a four-year institution and around 33% of all UI transfer students have an AA degree. EPC recommended that departments continue to work with Admissions and transfer institutions, educating and supporting community college counterparts. D. Miller noted that other CIC institutions do not accept transfer credit if a grade below a C has been earned, helping to ensure that transfer students are better prepared for major-level course work.

EPC continued the discussion of transfer issues, noting the efficiency and fairness of the processes used by Admissions. EPC would like to encourage all UI departments and programs to continue dialog with community colleges and Admissions about transfer issues.

EPC voted to recommend that the College not accept transfer credit for any course required for a major if the grade is a C- or lower. CLAS will continue to discuss this matter and its related details with the appropriate CLAS committees and University administrators.

EPC recommended that the College request Admissions to send a report of standardized transfer equivalences of major-level requirements, if any, to each department on a two-or three-year cycle. New DEOs especially need this information.

Respectfully submitted,
EPC Secretary
Robert Ketterer