Transfer students who enroll at UC repeatedly demonstrate their ability to succeed, posting high graduation rates comparable to freshmen who began college at a UC campus. Despite these achievements, the transfer process can be challenging, sometimes preventing otherwise promising students from meeting their goal of earning a four-year degree.

This report — the product of consultation with students, staff and faculty, as well as external constituencies such as the California Community Colleges and California State University — presents a series of recommendations designed to streamline and strengthen the transfer process for students, as well as broaden the range of students who transfer to UC. The Team’s key recommendations are:

1. Enhance UC’s message to prospective transfer students that they can afford and thrive at UC and create resources that invite and help prepare them for transfer, especially underserved students.

• Design messages specific to prospective CCC transfers that amplify UC’s ongoing commitment to this constituency.
• Develop a database of prospective transfer applicants within California with the capability to identify, track and assist students on their path toward and through the higher education system.
• Develop a student-focused portal for counselors and prospective students that combines academic planning, application and financial aid tools.
• Create an enhanced set of online and mobile tools to support the student transition and orientation process.

2. Increase UC’s presence at every CCC campus.

• Create mechanisms that ensure that UC reaches out to every CCC, by increasing existing academic preparation efforts and providing more training for CCC faculty and staff.
• Develop a CCC-UC Pipeline Initiative, an intersegmental partnership between UC campuses and 30 CCC campuses with relatively low numbers of transfers to UC.

3. Streamline and strengthen the UC transfer preparation process.

• Build on the prior work of the Academic Senate to create new or align existing systemwide pre-major pathways with corresponding Associate Degrees for Transfer and Transfer Model Curricula, where possible.
• Promote consistency across the system in how individual community college courses articulate to similar UC campus course requirements.
• Strengthen the comprehensive review process for CCC transfer applicants.
• Adopt the use of the Course Identification Numbering System (C-ID) for systemwide and campus articulation, where appropriate.

4. Create a “Transfer Success Kit” by conducting an inventory of campus transfer services, identifying areas of need and developing a systematic approach to help welcome students to UC.

This should include:

• Guaranteed on-campus housing for transfer students.
• Transfer centers, services, or online resource hubs.
• Peer-to-peer mentoring and advising programs.
• Summer residential or non-residential programs for admitted students.
• Enhanced orientation or online student success courses.
• A transfer credit evaluation for every CCC transfer applicant who submits a Statement of Intent to Register (SIR).

5. Commit UC to working with CCC and CSU to jointly engage in statewide strategic planning to improve the transfer pathway, present a united voice for higher education in Sacramento and with the California public, and increase the capacity of the segments to accommodate students.

• Launch a “Presidential Conversations” tour to CCCs to raise awareness about transfer to UC and engage California higher education leaders in discussions concerning statewide transfer capacity.
• Recommit UC to enrolling at least 33 percent transfers systemwide and by campus.
• Create an Intersegmental Enrollment Management Team to study long-term enrollment trends and needs.
• Host an annual Intersegmental Transfer Summit.