Ursinus College/ Wikimedia Commons
Success for transfer students goes beyond a simple articulation agreement. With the right leadership and commitment, community colleges and four-year institutions can build robust partnerships to boost outcomes. In this interview, representatives of Montgomery County Community College and Ursinus College share the evolution of their partnership and advice for other schools looking to enhance their transfer rates and outcomes.
Andrew Hibel, HigherEdJobs: Earlier this year, at the AAC&U Annual Meeting in San Francisco, you led a session regarding the partnership agreement between Montgomery County Community College and Ursinus College. Can you please provide an overview of how your initial agreement evolved into a stronger partnership?
Meredith Goldsmith, Professor of English and Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer, Ursinus College: In 2021-2022, we re-visited our pre-existing articulation in relation to Ursinus’s new core curriculum, with the goal of creating a more seamless experience for Montco students. We had also created a course specifically for transfer students — a one-semester version of our two-semester core course for first-year students. We reconfigured a visiting faculty line to include an element of transfer advising. I’d like to say that the partnership evolved from an agreement that existed primarily on paper to much more of a relationship between the two institutions on an interpersonal level. This past summer, in addition to the student research experience (more below), we sponsored faculty partnerships. Currently, we aim to expand those partnerships, possibly with faculty co-teaching across the institutions, as well as continuing to increase our enrollment of students from Montco. We are also developing a grant proposal for a humanities research hub that would continue to draw upon undergraduate research as an element that links our two institutions.
Timothy Brown, Dean of Liberal Arts, Montgomery County Community College: I entered the Ursinus-Montco collaboration in 2021-2022 when there was mutual interest to strengthen the partnership between the two institutions by cultivating interpersonal relationships. Previously, I had worked with Ursinus’s Director of Admissions at another institution, which made building relationships between the two institutions easier. From our discussions, we realized the foundation for pursuing a more seamless transition for Montco students to Ursinus was present in the following ways. First, Ursinus had data highlighting how our students who transferred to Ursinus performed very well. Second, as the new Dean of the Liberal Arts Division at Montco, I had interest in enhancing the profile of our Division and enriching the educational opportunities and experiences of our faculty and students. Third, our campuses were in the same county and less than 13 miles apart.
Hibel: How did you leverage an undergraduate research experience to support student recruitment and enrollment? What experiences might other colleges and universities offer to better build these pathways?
Goldsmith: Focus groups with transfer students had suggested that the experiential learning requirement was posing a challenge, especially when coupled with other requirements transfer students had to fulfill. Ursinus has a summer undergraduate research experience where students work with a mentor on a self-designed project. We decided to pilot a UC-Montco Summer Fellowship, with the idea that a student who had just received their associate’s degree could do the research experience, count it as their experiential learning credit if they transferred in, or reverse transfer the credit if they did not. Our student enrolled and thus started the pathway to completing the bachelor’s degree with a research experience with a considerable level of intellectual freedom as well as 1:1 guidance. I think almost any intensive research experience as long as it involves developing a question, working independently, receiving feedback, and dissemination, could be a valuable component in building a pathway.
Brown: My suggestion for colleges and universities who would want to implement a pathway is every step in the process needs to be intentional, and there needs to be ongoing communication and meetings to ensure the entire operation functions seamlessly. For example, when our institutions met in the fall of 2021, the meeting was very structured, it included the key academic leaders from each campus, and we had a focused agenda that guided our discussion and identified specific ways we could strengthen the partnership. The Undergraduate Research Experience was the ideal vehicle to develop our partnership as the infrastructure existed on the Ursinus campus. A working group from the two campuses was formed and focused on how to integrate the existing Ursinus system/process with Montco’s systems/processes. The working group monitored progress and solved challenges leading up to the first UC-Montoc Undergraduate Research Experience in the summer of 2022. Another important component is having the right people involved who enjoy working with other people and who are committed to the project.
Hibel: How did you get buy-in from your stakeholders on this collaboration?
Goldsmith: There was an instant realization that this was a valuable collaboration. Ursinus faculty and Montco faculty connected and built relationships. Because we’re small, there was very little red tape. There were minor bureaucratic hurdles to be considered — making sure our student had full library privileges, an ID, and an email address, for example — but those required only a bit of conversation with our registrar. Students are also important stakeholders — a Montco transfer who was also a Summer Fellow helped our student hit the ground running, but we’d be eager to see more student-student partnerships to increase the sense of welcome on campus.
Brown: I concur with Meredith. The faculty from Ursinus were easy to work with — they were genuine and collegial. They valued our Montco faculty and students. From day one, we have been treated as equals in the partnership. The opportunities for faculty talks on the Ursinus campus and the student presentations at the end of the summer session have enhanced the educational experience of our faculty and students.
Hibel: How have retention rates been affected? And if you can’t speak to retention yet, what are you most proud of as you work in this space of collaboration and strategic partnerships?
Goldsmith: At UC, students coming on community college articulations tend to graduate at slightly higher rates than the population as a whole. Obviously, our numbers were small for this year. What I’m proud of is that we’ve created a space not only for students to engage in research as part of our articulation, but that the transfer cohort has become a community. And more generally, we’ve raised awareness, tolerance, and flexibility on this issue — more faculty are aware at Ursinus of the issues transfers face and how we can support them.
Brown: At Montco, we are working on enhancing the profile of the Liberal Arts Division and communicating this great research and community-building opportunity for our students. At Montco, there tends to be an emphasis on STEM, the health sciences, and the workforce as opposed to students in the liberal arts. This partnership is helping affirm the value of the liberal arts. What I’m proud of is the Undergraduate Research Experience is enabling our faculty and students to demonstrate more of their expertise and knowledge, which enhances their educational experience. Undergraduate research is another way to demonstrate the relevancy of the liberal arts and the transferable skills such as critical thinking, writing, and communicating that prepare students not just for a career but for life. Also, I’m proud of the job our faculty are accomplishing in preparing our students for successfully transferring to a four-year institution.
Hibel: What advice and best practices can you share for community colleges or four-year institutions looking to build this sort of partnership? Where can they start, and what do they need?
Brown: My advice: 1) A collaborative partnership must have the support of the academic leadership at both institutions, and it must value supporting high-impact practices such as undergraduate research experiences; 2) The right people must be involved in the partnership — individuals who are collegial, self-motivated, and committed to working with students and faculty; 3) Have a working group that oversees the process, works through institutional challenges, seeks ways to highlight the success of the partnership, and explores how the partnership will continue to evolve.
I can’t emphasize enough the importance of having a commitment from academic leadership. At the initial meeting at Ursinus, we were welcomed by the president, dean, and other senior leaders. That type of start sets the foundation for what is needed for the partnership to be successful. Then, start with something (a class, an experience, etc.) and build upon it.
Hibel: What keeps you engaged working in higher education?
Goldsmith: The opportunity to work with students, faculty, and staff to effect positive change.
Brown: I love working with faculty and students and seeing how their lives are impacted and transformed. Higher education unlocked my potential, and I enjoy unlocking the potential in others.