New college transfer agreements for computer science, music

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Higher education officials Monday announced two new agreements aimed at giving future community and technical college transfer students a jump start on bachelor’s degrees in computer science or music.

The new “major related programs” are specialized versions of Washington’s decades-long direct transfer agreement, which allows students to finish the first two years of their bachelor’s degrees at a community or technical college and then transfer as juniors. The new agreements go one step further by including credits that apply directly to either a computer science or music major.

“This gives students a direct route toward a computer science or music major, and provides students with access pathways to meet their goals,” said Julie Garver, associate director for academic policy for the Council of Presidents, the organization representing four-year public colleges and universities.

The new agreements include all 34 community and technical colleges and all six public universities, and build on the nearly 50 years of transfer work between the community and technical colleges and four-year institutions in Washington. Transfer students who earn a degree under either of the two agreements are guaranteed a set of their credits will meet certain prerequisites for the majors.

Joyce Hammer, director of transfer education for the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC), said the new agreements are the latest chapter in a long history of cooperation between community and technical colleges and four-year universities.

“Every year, about 20,000 community and technical college students transfer to four-year universities,” said Hammer. “These agreements are just one more way we’re partnering to move students through college faster and move Washington closer to its higher education goals.”

The new agreements were crafted through the Council of Presidents, SBCTC and the Washington Student Achievement Council, along with the Independent Colleges of Washington. Garver and Hammer credited faculty for working to identify the common components of computer science and music degrees among four-year universities, and then match those to common courses among the state’s community and technical colleges. 

Statewide direct transfer agreements already exist for biology, business, nursing, pre-nursing, technology and construction, and in math education for aspiring secondary teachers. The latest agreements add computer science and music to the list.

Transfer agreements don’t guarantee that students will be admitted into universities or their majors; students must still competitively apply for admission.