Fears about losing the best and brightest students have several states developing education pipelines that make it easier and cheaper for students to enter higher education and remain in-state. These programs often start at two-year community colleges and make it seamless for students to transfer credits and graduate from four-year colleges and universities.
While NH has been relatively late to the game compared to other states, new programs are seeking to make this transition as smooth as possible.
The NH Dual Admission Program was piloted last year at Great Bay Community College and the University of NH. The 52 participating students were allowed to apply and be jointly admitted to a community college and any of the four University System of NH schools at one time. The goal was to integrate the students into the USNH school of their choice from the start. It is now available at all seven community colleges and 70 alone students have signed on Great Bay Community College for this fall.
Hannah Graham and Chloe Routhier, students at Great Bay Community College, attended a UNH hockey game in
December with other students who will transfer to UNH. Photo courtesy of Great Bay Community College.
This builds on the seven-year-old NH Transfer Connections program that guarantees a student with an associate degree from a community college in the state admission to one of the four-year colleges within the University System of NH (USNH).
Private colleges are also working to attract community college students. Seven private colleges and universities in NH have transfer agreements for students in particular majors. According to Deanna Friedman, director of advising at Great Bay Community College in Portsmouth, many private colleges across New England also hold transfer agreements for specific majors with Community College System of NH (CCSNH) schools. For example, NHTI, Concord’s community college, has agreements with Franklin Pierce University and its accounting programs. And in July, New England College in Henniker created the CC2NEC program (or Community College to New England College), which grants automatic acceptance to New England College for most community college students nationwide.
And these programs are starting to gain traction. During the past three years, roughly 670 students, out of 6,000 NH community college graduates, transferred to USNH schools. Transfer data to private colleges in the state was not available.
Compelling Math
Among those who found success on this path is Rob Scott, who was appointed principal at Groveton Elementary School in 2014. Scott graduated in 2007 from Plymouth State University with a bachelor’s degree and about $12,000 in student debt.
Scott earned his teaching certification via The North Country Teacher Certification Program, an agreement between White Mountains Community College (WMCC), Granite State College and Plymouth State University to provide bachelor degrees and teaching certification from Plymouth State University to students in the North Country, without having to travel.
The program advisor has an office at WMCC and professors from Plymouth State come to the WMCC campus. Candidates spend three semesters taking classes and one semester of student teaching. During that final semester, students must leave their full-time jobs, but the program provides a stipend to cover living expenses.
For Scott, the program was just what he needed. “The program’s hands-on experiential approach got you in the classroom as much as possible. One day you were observing, the next time you were teacher for a day and by the last semester you were student teaching. It was very well planned and there was lots of support available,” says Scott, who admitted he wasn’t the best high school student. But he more than made up for it in college, earning his degree from Plymouth State with a 3.97 grade point average. And he went on to earn his master’s. “I don’t think I would be in education without this program,” he says. “I wouldn’t have gone to classes at the Plymouth campus because I had a job.”
The Community College System and USNH believe more programs like these are what the state needs to keep more students in NH. So the community colleges are working with USNH and private schools to develop more pathways to an affordable bachelor’s degree close to home—at least for the part earned at a community college.
Groveton Elementary School Principal Rob Scott, left, seen here with students receiving honors awards, earned his
teaching certificate in 2007 via the North Country Teacher Certification Program.
There are many reasons why making it easier to start and finish college in NH would be good for the NH economy. Nearly half (46 percent to be exact) of NH’s high school graduates leave the state to attend college, compared to 18 percent nationwide, according to the community college system. “This is a real loss of an opportunity for the state’s economy with regards to the supply of skilled workers,” says Ross Gittell, chancellor of the state’s community college system.
For those who stay, NH students carry the highest college debt of any state. The transfer programs between two- and four-year colleges address this head on.
Friedman offers a cost comparison. An associate degree at Great Bay (64 credits at $222 a credit) would cost an in-state student $14,208. One year of in-state tuition at UNH was $16,552 in 2014-15. A student who does their first two years at community college and transfers to UNH saves about 33 percent overall, Friedman says.
Many Paths to Success
With most transfer programs relatively new, there is no data on the success of students in transferring to a four-year school and earning a bachelor’s degree within four years. The hope is that transparent programs with easy-to-follow pathways will encourage students to complete their associate and consider a bachelor’s degree program at one of the four USNH campuses.
Great Bay Community College Student Gates McPherson attends the signing
of the Dual Admissions agreement between CCSNH and USNH in Concord.
The NH Dual Admission Program is one program with this aim. It intends to make transfers seamless, so if a student is accepted into the Dual Admission program and does the coursework, their credits will transfer and they will complete the degree in four years. This program saves money by offering an alternative to the traditional four-year residential experience.
Students who participate in the Dual Admissions program apply only once and pay one application fee. From their start at the community college, they are connected with the USNH school of their choice and receive specialized advising. They also have the opportunity to get to know their intended USNH campus through activities such as hockey games and movie nights.
The program is designed for the transition from liberal arts majors at community college to various programs at USNH schools. “Students are invested from the beginning,” says Friedman. “It’s a four-year approach even though they are starting at a two-year school.”
Of the 52 students who signed on with the Dual Admissions program for the 2014-2015 academic year, Gates MacPherson of Newfields was the first.
An Exeter High School graduate, she was accepted by six four-year colleges and universities and chose to start her college education at Great Bay Community College, knowing she could complete her education at UNH. She’ll start her second year at Great Bay this fall and go on to earn her associate degree before transferring to UNH.
She chose the Dual Admissions program because it was the most cost-effective option for her, and as she is still deciding on a major, (she’s thinking about a career in publishing or communications) it made sense to start with a liberal arts degree.
The specialized advising she’d receive also factored into her choice. “You tell your vision and [academic advising] staff does whatever they can,” she says. “They know each student individually. They send me reminders on deadlines, help me pick classes, ask if I need a tutor or a hybrid on-campus/online course—they understand it’s a new experience.”
New England College (NEC) is seeking transfers too, from across the country. Historically, about 30 students a year transfer from community colleges to NEC to live on campus, or a little less than 10 percent of a given class. So the school is now throwing open its doors to grow that number, accepting all community college students who are in good academic standing (making enough academic progress to receive federal financial aid). The school has a growing online community and is looking to share this option with community college students nationwide.
“We want college-bound students to know four-year college is more affordable than they think and that the published price is not necessarily what they will have to pay,” says Brad Poznanski, vice president of enrollment at NEC. He says New England College typically gives financial aid equal to half of tuition. “We want to send a message that we welcome them.”
Poznanski says the school has historically accepted about 90 percent of community college transfer students who apply. They usually come in to upper level classes, and often commute from home, so they do not use on-campus housing.
Planning for Success
For students not ready to commit at day one, the NH Transfer Connections Program offers an alternate path to a four-year degree. It allows students to transfer to a USNH school or selected private schools as they near the end of their associate degree. Students may elect to enroll in the NH Transfer Connections at any point in their CCSNH career at no additional cost. The application process is streamlined; students meet with an academic advisor to fill out the short application and discuss admission requirements at their desired USNH school. They are also assured on-campus housing.
The most common majors for transfer students, in no particular order, are Business Administration/Management, Education, Biology/Biochemistry/Microbiology/Biotechnology/Biomedical, Psychology/Behavioral Science, Applied Studies, Engineering Technologies, Nursing and Information Technology/Computer Science.
Trendlines
Monnica Chan, director of policy and research at the New England Board of Higher Education, says other New England states have had dual admissions programs in existence for a few years. And nationally about 20 states have such programs.
Examples include Rhode Island’s Joint Admissions Agreement program (between the
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