Metropolitan State University of Denver has been chosen to participate in the yearlong Aspen-AASCU Transfer Student Success Intensive.
MSU Denver will partner with Community College of Denver during the program, which equips colleges and universities with data-driven strategies, peer learning and expert guidance to improve outcomes for transfer students.
MSU Denver and CCD are among 10 pairs of institutions chosen for this prestigious program.
The initiative, a collaboration between Aspen Institute and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, is designed to help streamline and coordinate policies and strengthen transfer pathways between community colleges and four-year universities. The goal is to make it possible for more students to successfully transfer to universities and complete a bachelor’s degree.
Transfer students make up 40% of the student population at MSU Denver, which is Colorado’s top destination for students moving from community college to a four-year institution. And often, a majority of those students are moving across the Auraria Campus from CCD.
Teams from those two institutions, along with the University of Colorado Denver, have been working together for several years to streamline student transfers and have made significant progress, said Shaun Schafer, Ph.D., MSU Denver associate vice president for Curriculum, Academic Effectiveness and Policy Development.
At this point, “there is almost not a class you can take at CCD that we wouldn’t accept” and offer credit for, he said.
Schafer, along with MSU Denver President Janine Davidson, Ph.D.; Brian Guerrero, Ed.D. associate to the vice president in Student Affairs; Registrar Connie Sanders; Director of Data and Analytics Buffy Ribble, Ph.D.; Interim Provost Matt Makley; and Chief Enrollment Officer Long Huynh, DBA, will represent MSU Denver during the initiative.
The biggest problem the institutions have faced in previous efforts to create a seamless transition path is that CCD is part of a community-college system and that “sometimes, to make changes, they have to move the whole system,” Schafer said.
The challenge has been to convert classes, credits and curriculums so they are compatible and equivalent. That’s where the Aspen Institute partnership can help, said Tania LaViolet, director of research and innovation at the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program.
“Through this initiative, we are helping institutions address systemic barriers and develop actionable plans that, if implemented, should improve transfer rates and bachelor’s-degree attainment for students who begin at community colleges,” LaViolet said.
The partnership adds a blueprint and resources to help move the work along. They include:
- Monthly work sessions that provide tools, strategies and resources to address the challenges transfer students face.
- Individualized consultations with transfer experts.
- Collaborations with institutions that have mastered the seamless transfer process.
- Data analytics that offer insights into transfer-student outcomes.
The partnership kicks off Feb. 25, with the CCD/MSU Denver Transfer Summit. The invitation-only event will feature Josh Wyner, vice president and executive director of the Aspen Institute’s Aspen College Excellence Program; community partners; leaders from MSU Denver and CCD; and a panel of students who have experienced the transfer process.
The result, when the year of work is over, will be a completed Strategic Transfer Excellence Plan that benefits MSU Denver and CCD and aligns with institutional priorities for student achievement, equity and workforce readiness.
Schafer said the work is all about paving the way for students to move seamlessly from CCD to MSU Denver without having to worry about losing credits or transferring coursework or, ideally, without even realizing the process was happening.
