DEGREE DEBT CRISIS

Lawmakers introduce statewide credit transfer system bill affecting students at all 2- and 4-year community colleges

HARTFORD >> Community college students are penalized to the tune of $3 million to $7 million in extra tuition and fees when transferring to the University of Connecticut, a 2015 study shows.

Taking on one of the largest barriers to a four-year degree — losing previously earned college credits, specifically within the state’s school system — a bill was introduced last week to establish statewide transfer and articulation agreements between the state’s community college system and all public four-year institutions, including UConn, according to a press release from state Rep. Christie Carpino.

Undergraduate transfer students lost an average of 12 credits, delayed graduation by one semester, and added $6,350 to their education tab, according to

Resolving the lost transfer credit problem is “the only solution to the college affordability issue.” — John Mullane, a counselor at Gateway Community College in New Haven

analysis by John Mullane, a counselor at Gateway Community College in New Haven.

Lost transfer credits contribute to the nation’s $1.3 trillion student debt crisis, Mullane said. He believes a statewide resolution could quickly improve access to the “last affordable route to higher education.”

Five years ago, the state mandated that up to 30 of a student’s general education credits could be transferred within the state system, but UConn was excluded from the rule, Mullane explained. “And they never enforced that law. And that (credit) list has never been developed,” he added.

All the wasted time and money is a huge problem, not only in Connecticut, but across the country, said Mullane, who lauds some states, such as Florida and Washington, which “are doing a much better job helping students.”

Resolving the lost transfer credit problem is “the only solution to the college affordability issue,” Mullane said.

“Neither the state nor the student should be financing duplicate coursework,” said Carpino, who represents Cromwell and Portland, in the release. “We need to do a better job of creating a seamless system.”

House Bill 573, which has been referred to the state legislature’s Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee, will require faculty and staff of the 17 Connecticut community colleges, state universities and University of Connecticut to develop transfer pathways to ensure the seamless transfer of credits.

UConn rejects more than 20 percent of credits from community college transfer students, according to analysis by Mullane.

“A key thing to note,” said Mullane, a 10-year counselor at Gateway, is “the perception that community college isn’t as rigorous as a four-year school is false.”

Instead, transfer students do just as well, or better than, those who start there, he added. “So many students have these stories about transfer credits and schools that won’t accept them,” Mullane said. “Half of students transfer more than once, attend more than one school, trying to patch it together — to get a degree.”

Community college students and others can offer testimony if the Higher Education Committee calls a public hearing, Mullane said. “They’ll tell their stories. Then we can have an open and honest conversation about issues and shape a solution.”

For information, see cga. ct.gov/hed.

FILE PHOTO Middlesex Community College in Middletown is among the state’s 17 state colleges and universities. A bill was introduced last week to establish a transfer program between Connecticut’s community college system and all its public four-year institutions.