Two Local Campuses Sign Transfer Agreement

The University of New Haven and Housatonic Community College of Bridgeport have signed an articulation agreement that provides HCC graduates with a seamless transfer into UNH.

The agreement, signed by HCC President Anita T. Gliniecki and University of New Haven (UNH) President Dr Steven H. Kaplan at a ceremony August 14 at UNH, assures that HCC graduates in any field will be accepted into UNH provided they maintain a 2.5 grade point average. It also provides grants up to $12,000 for academically accomplished students.

“We’re delighted to establish an expanded relationship with a college of the caliber of UNH,” said HCC President Anita T. Gliniecki. “Agreements like the one we just signed ensure that our graduates have a wide variety of educational options from which to choose.”

With the increasing cost of higher education, said Academic Dean Elizabeth Roop, more and more students and parents are seeing community colleges as a cost-effective stepping stone to a four-year college. Transfer agreements like this make community colleges even more attractive to prospective students.

Dean Roop said the grants to be offered to academically accomplished HCC graduates enhance that attractiveness. “UNH’s offering these grants is a testimony to the quality of education and the caliber of students who graduate from HCC,” she said. “This is something that will definitely appeal to prospective students.”

Prior to this new agreement, the two colleges had program-to-program transfer agreements for criminal justice and accounting majors. The new agreement signed August 14 should pave the way for more such agreements.

“Our goal is to make UNH the preferred institution for community college graduates who want to transfer to a four-year university,” said Art Goon, dean of the UNH University College, which administers the program. “The agreement with Housatonic Community College is a vital step in that direction.”

Goon pointed out that there are typically three types of articulation agreements with community colleges: dual admissions, core-to-core, and program-to-program. Until recently, the articulation agreements UNH had with various community colleges were strictly program-to-program, which are specific to a particular major, such as criminal justice or accounting. The new agreement with Housatonic Community College contains all three components.

Under the dual admissions agreement, HCC students will be guaranteed admission to any UNH bachelor’s degree program, including full-time, part-time, evening, and accelerated-degree programs, with third-year status, on the condition that they: Graduate from HCC with an associate of science or associate of arts and earn a minimum GPA of 2.50 or better; complete the dual admissions intent form by the time they make application to UNH; and satisfy all other UNH admissions requirements.

Under the core-to-core agreement, UNH agrees to accept and apply the general education requirements embedded in the HCC associate degrees to the appropriate UNH core competencies. Students will still need to complete the UNH core competencies not satisfied by the HCC general education requirements.

With a campus in downtown Bridgeport, HCC offers more than 60 degree and certificate programs that prepare students to pursue a further education or go directly into the workforce. This fall, the college is expanding into a new building that will double the size of the campus and enable the college to offer some 200 new courses. This additional space will feature an enlarged bookstore, classrooms, computer labs, quiet study areas, a wellness center, a cafeteria and student activities areas.