Many Virginians aspiring to earn a four-year degree intentionally begin their journey at one of the 23 community colleges within the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). In concert with those aspirations, the VCCS is committed to providing its residents an affordable and accessible program of study that prepares them to transfer and earn a…

As of 2011, 31 million adults in the United States had some college credit but had not earned a postsecondary credential, defined in this brief as a near-completer. This brief provides an overview of the 2017 near-completer policy landscape and a detailed review of three states implementing innovative outreach to this population. State example…

This report looks at actions Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) states have taken in recent years to improve the connections between public two- and four-year colleges, and it offers suggestions on what needs to happen next. To best understand the progress in their states, policymakers and education leaders should ask about the effectiveness…

In 2008's Public Chapter 863, the General Assembly directed the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) to work with the University of Tennessee and the Tennessee Board of Regents to facilitate "universal articulation" of lower division "transfer paths" to baccalaureate majors. This legislation builds on a 2000 Act…

The General Assembly determined that a higher education system that failed to allow the transfer of seemingly identical or similar courses increased the time to degree and cost to the student and the state. It was also the perception of the General Assembly that public higher education was not taking adequate steps to remedy the problem.…