The Louisiana Board of Regents (BOR) approved new Universal Transfer Pathways at all public institutions last week, which are expected to launch for students statewide in Fall 2024.
Passed in the 2022 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature, Act 308, authored by Senator Cleo Fields, mandates the creation and implementation of statewide transfer pathways from twoyear associate’s degree programs into fouryear baccalaureate degree programs. The law specifically seeks to improve the portability of successfully completed college courses as students transfer between institutions, to ensure that all credits earned are counted toward the degree. Challenges with transfer have been cited in Louisiana and across the country as barriers to student success and completion. Currently, on average, students take almost four years to finish their bachelor’s degree after they transfer (BOR 202122 Articulation and Transfer Report).
The action taken today supports these legislative requirements: • Each universal transfer pathway consists of 60 credit hours of coursework that can be seamlessly transferred and applied toward the requirements of a BA or BS degree at any public four-year institution in Louisiana offering the related degree.
• Each universal transfer pathway includes courses that satisfy the graduation requirements for an associate’s degree.
• Any student who completes the requirements of the universal transfer pathway and then transfers to a program at a four-year public institution in Louisiana will not be required to complete more than the total credits required for the BA or BS degree in that program, less the sixty credit hours earned in the transfer pathway.
• Students can earn credit for courses in the transfer pathway through accelerated programs like dual enrollment, AP, IB, and CLEP. The Board’s actions today were applauded by the Board of Regents’ student member and Louisiana’s Commissioner of Higher Education. “The universal transfer pathways approved today are a game changer for our students across Louisiana. The pathways will empower students to navigate their academic journeys seamlessly, with direction and purpose. We’re grateful to the hundreds of faculty members who participated in this work for their efforts in creating these pathways,” said Sam Gil, a McNeese State University senior and student member of the Board.
“Today’s approval of the initial set of universal transfer pathways is a significant step forward in Louisiana’s efforts to improve the academic experience of our students by decreasing both the cost of attendance and time to completion. With these new programs, students who begin their studies at a community college can now be assured that their credits will transfer to a bachelor’s degree program at any public university in Louisiana. This is the culmination of tremendous collaborative work by hundreds of faculty members across all of our public institutions and systems,” said Dr. Kim Hunter Reed, Commissioner of Higher Education.
In collaboration with the Statewide Articulation and Transfer Council (SATC), Regents staff identified the highest-enrollment bachelor’s degrees, analyzed by discipline the curricula at each campus offering these programs, and developed draft universal pathways for consideration. This past spring, almost 300 faculty across all public institutions offering these programs met in committees to review and revise the draft curricula. Their work resulted in a total of 24 subject- specific universal transfer pathways.
Dr. Yolanda Campbell, Associate Professor in the Department of Mass Communication at Southern University A&M, was one of the participating faculty. “Southern University is proud to be a part of the conversation regarding universal transfer pathways. Our involvement in the process is crucial to the successful and timely matriculation of our students,” she said.
Prior to Regents’ action today, the pathways were reviewed and approved by discipline-specific faculty, and campus and system academic officers to ensure alignment and support across all Louisiana public postsecondary institutions. Vicki Dennis, Dean of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Bossier Parish Community College, who joined in the review, commented that “Well-developed transfer pathways are more important than ever. It is critical that all members of the higher education sector collaborate to ensure that students can seamlessly matriculate through programs that may begin in high school, continue through the community college, and reach fruition at the university.”
The completed universal transfer pathways are as follows:
• Art
• Biology
• Business
• Accounting
• Finance
• General Business
• Management
• Marketing
• Engineering
• Chemical
• Civil
• Electrical
• Mechanical
• Communication
• Computer Science
• Criminal Justice
• Cybersecurity
• English
• History
• Kinesiology
• Sport Management
• Pre-allied Health
• Nursing
• Political Science
• Psychology
• Social Work
• Sociology Next steps include developing accessible and student-focused information, such as a website and advising materials. Broad knowledge of universal pathways options will improve college navigation, completion, and affordability. In addition, in the coming year, Regents will coordinate and launch the process to develop the next set of pathways, again focusing on high-demand areas.
