What some students are saying about MnSCU's transfer report

Earlier this week, when MnSCU rolled out the report it'll give the legislature on how smoothly students are able to transfer schools, it touted the statistic that:

"... 91 percent of students who transfer within the system do so successfully without experiencing any problems."

(See the executive summary and pg. 7)

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But Associate Director Jessica Madearis of the Minnesota State College Student Association, which represents students at two-year colleges and helped MnSCU with a 2010 student transfer survey, told me that statement isn't really accurate:

"We have an issue with the language."

Although all appropriate credits do transfer in 91 percent of cases, she said, that doesn't mean the process went smoothly.

An internal MnSCU audit indicated that almost 21 percent experienced problems of the process, she said – "not loss of credits, but certainly things that created barriers for students." Problems included issues such as transcript errors or incorrect conversion of credits from quarter systems to semesters.

More than a quarter called the transfer process "more difficult than expected" in the survey, and a third called their experience "fair or poor."

Madearis said MnSCU staffers will work with the association on what new language to use, "so we're confident it will be a better to report when it's presented to the legislature."

The report is due Feb. 15, she said.