Chancellor King and SUNY Board of Trustees Announce the Adoption of the Final Transfer Task Force Recommendations
December 17, 2024
Comprehensive Plan Aims to Improve All Aspects of the Transfer Student Experience—Particularly for Students Transferring from Community to Baccalaureate Colleges
Valhalla, NY – State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. and the SUNY Board of Trustees today announced the adoption of the final Transfer Task Force Recommendations, which provide a system-wide road map to dramatically improve transfer between SUNY campuses—particularly focused on streamlining the experience of students moving from a community college to a bachelor's degree-granting institution. The approved recommendations are available here.
Following a presentation to the SUNY Board of Trustees in late October, the Transfer Task Force report was published online with an invitation for feedback from the entire SUNY community, with comments accepted through an online form into early December. The report was broadly distributed to campus leaders, professional organizations, and key stakeholder groups. The dissemination of the report was also coupled with more than 20 presentations to key stakeholder groups to build awareness for the report recommendations and planned next steps following adoption.
"SUNY is committed to supporting student success and ensuring students can achieve their educational aspirations across our 64 campuses," said SUNY Chancellor King. "Today's approval of the final Transfer Task Force Recommendations is essential to continue fulfilling its commitment of providing high quality opportunities to transfer students both inside and outside of the classroom. The university system leadership looks forward to supporting our SUNY campuses as they implement these recommendations in the new year and beyond."
The SUNY Board of Trustees said, "SUNY is proud to be a cornerstone of accessibility and affordability for thousands of students across New York State. For many of these students, beginning their education at a community college and later transferring to a four-year institution is an essential component to accessing higher education. The SUNY Board of Trustees is proud to adopt the Transfer Task Force report, which includes recommendations that will ensure students who transfer across our institutions can successfully complete their higher education."
The 32 recommendations adopted today are organized across four key objectives, focused on both directly supporting students at all stages of their associate and baccalaureate path and providing essential resources, tools, and training to the faculty and staff engaged in the transfer enterprise. The four objectives specify how SUNY will:
- Maximize credit acceptances and major applicability
- Provide clarity, transparency, and consistency in transfer process and policy
- Provide additional system-wide resources
- Foster system-wide transfer partnerships
Aspen Institute College Excellence Program Founder and Executive Director Josh Wyner said, "It is exciting to see the SUNY system working to improve outcomes for students who begin their studies at community college and aim to earn a bachelor's degree after transferring. The transfer task force report released today sets the stage for scaled improvements. I have already seen the impact of this process on one college campus when I visited SUNY-Oneonta, and am eager to see how even more college leaders, faculty, and staff capitalize on the task force's recommendations. With focused efforts to strengthen transfer programs and transfer advising, each SUNY college can – and should – build on the work of the task force to develop the diverse talent needed to drive the state's economy forward while ensuring greater economic mobility for large numbers of future SUNY students."
John Fink, Senior Research Associate and Program Lead at the Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University, added, "Our research shows that while outcomes for community college students aspiring to transfer and complete a bachelor's are low nationally, there are meaningful differences across states, highlighting the importance of statewide investments to strengthen transfer student outcomes."
University at Buffalo President Satish Tripathi said, "These thoughtful recommendations will smooth out the transfer process, so students are well positioned to achieve their higher education aspirations. This work is a testament to the SUNY system's commitment to student success and to building a robust pipeline from community colleges to four-year institutions, leading to expanded professional opportunities for students after graduation."
Suffolk County Community College President Edward Bonahue said, "The adoption of the Transfer Task Force Recommendations is an important step toward ensuring that New York's community college students have the support they need to successfully transition to baccalaureate institutions. By streamlining credit acceptance, providing clearer pathways, and fostering stronger partnerships between SUNY campuses, we are giving our students the best possible chance to earn their degrees and achieve their academic and professional goals."
The task force was launched in Fall 2023, with five working groups focused on every aspect of the process—advisement and transfer services; financial aid, business, and student accounts; enrollment management, recruitment, and marketing; curriculum and transfer pathways; and student records and student data. The task force was led by a steering committee, which consisted of leaders across the state from various professional and academic backgrounds and supported by a presidents' advisory committee. Over 100 individuals from all SUNY campus sectors and the System office, representing every region of the State formally served on the Task Force, with additional faculty, staff and students engaged in surveys, campus visits, ad hoc groups, and listening sessions to inform recommendations advanced in the report.
According to the Community College Research Center (CCRC), 80% of students who entered a community college intended to complete a baccalaureate degree. Roughly 33% transfer to a baccalaureate institution (the transfer-out rate), with only 48% of those students earning a bachelor's degree. Only 16% of students who begin their studies at a community college earn a baccalaureate degree within a six-year timeframe.
About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state’s only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2023, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit suny.edu.
Share this:
Holly Liapis
518-320-1311
Email the Office of Communications
