Beginning next fall, Oregon students will have an easier time transferring credits between Oregon University System and Oregon community college institutions with the establishment of the Oregon Transfer Module.
The OTM was unanimously approved Thursday by the state’s Joint Boards of Education.
The module will not introduce any courses to Oregon schools. Public colleges will instead group an array of general education required courses together. When a first-year student completes the set at any college, he or she will be granted the OTM, a 45-credit package that all the state’s public schools will accept.
Officials say they hope the module will help facilitate the movement between institutions, which already takes place.
“More and more what we’re finding is that students don’t just come to one institution, take all their courses at that institution and graduate,” said Lorraine Davis, vice president for Academic Affairs. “Even if you’re picking up a course or program or term here and there, you can come in with this package of courses that can’t be unraveled, will be accepted and will be a part of general
education requirements.”
The program targets students in their first year of college who aren’t certain of what they want to major in.
Peter Gilkey, mathematics professor and former president of the inter-institutional faculty senate, explained that the program will help plug a hole in the system that schools use to transfer credits between community
colleges and universities.
The Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer Degree is a two-year degree that can be earned at a community college, Gilkey said. However, students who want to transfer to a university to work on major requirements after just one year can’t get the AAOT.
That means that classes have to be transferred over individually, which can sometimes result in lost credits.
“(The OTM) will establish some clarity for students about expectations,” Gilkey said. “I wouldn’t say it’s a panacea, but it’s better than taking courses at random during the first year.”
Davis described the OTM as a subset of AAOT courses.
“Only about 40 percent of the students who were transferring were coming over with the AAOT,” Davis said. “So there should be a smaller subset of courses that (students) can bring over.”
To obtain the OTM, Oregon students will have to hold a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 at the time the module is posted and earn a “C-” or higher in each of the required classes. The module will be a combination of writing, communication, mathematics, arts and letters, social science, biological or physical science, and elective courses.
“The OTM really is a joint product of an enormous amount of collaborative effort,” Gilkey said.
All of the state’s public community colleges and universities participated in the process, and hearings for the program were held on all seven OUS campuses and at Mount Hood Community College. Development for the program began in spring 2004.
The OTM will be introduced at all OUS universities and community colleges for 2005-06.
“When students lose credits, they also lose valuable time, money and momentum towards a degree,” Gretchen Schuette, chair of the Excellence in Delivery and Productivity Working Group of the State Board of Higher Education and Chemeketa Community College president said in a press release. “The Oregon Transfer Module retains the value of hard-earned credits, helping Oregon’s diverse students reach their college goals faster, better and at less cost.”

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