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Despite their best intentions, the overwhelming majority of community college students in the United States never transfer to a four-year school and complete their bachelor’s degree. But WPI is working hard to improve those prospects for transfer students interested in STEM.

The university has developed a robust and holistic support system in recent years for students who transfer here, and new agreements with four community colleges in the region offer a seamless admission path to WPI for many New England students.

“Students who earn a bachelor’s degree from WPI are in a good position to contribute to the local, national, and global economies, especially in STEM and business fields,” says WPI President Grace Wang. “By developing a strong network of support for transfer students, WPI is not only offering great opportunities to students but also helping to strengthen the regional economy for many years to come.”

WPI’s current undergraduate student body includes 211 students (just under 4 percent) who have transferred here at some point during their college experience. But just as there is no “typical” first-year student at WPI, those who transfer are motivated by multiple factors as they seek to make WPI their academic home.

Some realize they like WPI’s academic offerings or student experience better than those at the college where they started. Others choose to transfer after starting at a state university or community college. In fact, an increasing number of WPI’s transfer students each year come from community colleges.

The memoranda of understanding that Wang signed earlier this year with community college presidents in Massachusetts and New Hampshire guarantee admission for students who have completed their associate’s degree with at least a 3.3 grade point average (GPA)—and for those who have not yet completed their associate’s degree but have a minimum 3.0 GPA—and have passed both a college-level laboratory science course and a college-level precalculus or calculus 1 course. Agreements are now in effect with Manchester Community College, Middlesex Community College, Mount Wachusett Community College, and Quinsigamond Community College.

By developing a strong network of support for transfer students, WPI is not only offering great opportunities to students but also helping to strengthen the regional economy for many years to come.

Grace Wang

President

But smoothing the admissions process is only one of many critical supports WPI offers students at these community colleges.

“There is now a dedicated group of people here at WPI who holistically are involved with the entire student life cycle for these transfer students—from the first day we make contact with them at the community colleges all the way through to their graduating from WPI and getting a job,” says Arne Gericke, interim dean of undergraduate studies.

Those first contacts are made when members of WPI’s Admissions Office visit the community college campuses. The goal is to help students pursuing their associate’s degree see what is possible with a bachelor’s degree from WPI, and students are encouraged to meet with staff in the Heebner Career Development Center while they make decisions about their next steps.

Details Matter

One of the biggest considerations for students weighing any college transfer is always whether the new school will accept coursework from the other institution. WPI’s recent agreements streamline the process, communicating clearly which previously completed credits will count toward WPI’s graduation requirements.

“That’s important because although course credits may transfer, they sometimes only count as electives rather than toward the student’s major. This may result in longer times to complete a degree than necessary,” Gericke says. “Our team collaborates with colleagues at partner institutions to create clearly defined transfer pathways for each major, ensuring that the maximum number of transferred courses count toward graduation.”

WPI has developed additional supports that benefit all transfer students, not only those from the four partner community colleges. These include reserving spaces in some required classes and Interactive Qualifying Projects, since transfer students often learn they have been accepted to WPI only after course registration ends for continuing students. The university also offers transfer students two summer course tuition waivers, which can help speed their path toward graduation.

Our team collaborates with colleagues at partner institutions to create clearly defined transfer pathways for each major, ensuring that the maximum number of transferred courses count toward graduation.

Arne Gericke

Interim Dean of Undergraduate Studies

In addition, WPI guarantees housing for all transfer students who want to live on campus and provides dedicated orientation sessions distinct from those for new first-year students. The idea is to help transfer students—many of whom are older or may work off campus, commute to Worcester, or are the first in their family to attend college—develop connections and a sense of community at WPI.

Personal Effects

Strong personal connections with faculty, staff, and other students are vital for transfer students’ success, says Debra Boucher, assistant dean of undergraduate studies.

Boucher knows firsthand that having a positive experience as a transfer student can be truly life changing. She began her college career at Mount Wachusett Community College, then transferred to Mount Holyoke College, where she benefitted from new experiences and opportunities.

“I would have never known about that option to transfer, but one of my professors connected me to the Mount Holyoke people who came to campus regularly. They learned my name and invited me to visit their campus,” she says.

“At WPI, we’re developing partnerships that are more than agreements with other schools. We’re building trust,” Boucher adds. “We want to be the place where they send their best students, knowing they’re going to have a great experience and that the world is going to open up for them.”

But it doesn’t take personal experience as a transfer student to understand the greater good that comes from opening doors for students from all backgrounds.

“For many of us at WPI, it’s our aspiration to make education available and accessible to students from all walks of life and socioeconomic groups,” says Gericke. “Of course this helps the university, and at the same time it’s also the right thing to do.”

By developing agreements with area community colleges and strengthening resources for all transfer students at WPI, Boucher says, the university is becoming more accessible to a wider group of students. “And we’re doing it in a way that is respectful and inclusive and supportive of those individuals, not just to change WPI’s enrollment numbers but to really change people’s lives.”