The Roads to Our Future
Third Annual Report
Transfer and Access in Maryland
March, 2009
University System of Maryland · Maryland Association of Community Colleges
Joint Leadership Council
Committee on Transfer and Access
UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF MARYLAND
MARYLAND ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY COLLEGES
JOINT LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
COMMITTEE ON TRANSFER AND ACCESS
MEMBERSHIP
Stuart Bounds, President, Chesapeake College
Robert Caret, President, Towson University
2007 – 2008 Co-Chairs
Guy Altieri, Hagerstown Community College
Robert Bogomolny, University of Baltimore
2008 – 2009 Co-Chairs
Jim Ball, Vice President of Academic & Student Affairs, Carroll Community College
Barry Evans, Enrollment Management Outreach Specialist, Towson University
Mary Gartner, Associate Provost, Frostburg State University
Donna Hamilton, Associate Provost for Academic Affairs and Dean for Undergraduate Studies,
University of Maryland College Park
Terry Hirsch, Director of Institutional Research, Community College of Baltimore County
Teri Hollander, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, University System of Maryland
Tracey Jamison, Director of Articulation & Enrollment Services, University System of Maryland
Seth Kamen, Director of Community College Relations, University of Baltimore
Lonnie McNew, Senior Associate Vice President, Towson University
Judith Oleks, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Hagerstown Community College
Ben Passmore, Director of Policy Research and Analysis, University System of Maryland
Brad Phillips, Research Director, Maryland Association of Community Colleges
The Joint Leadership Council's Committee on Transfer and Access in Maryland wishes to recognize and
honor Dr. Barbara Ash, Research Director Maryland Association of Community Colleges for her extensive
contributions to the important work of improving transfer opportunities in Maryland. Dr. Ash's
professionalism, leadership, and research skills contributed significantly to progress of the committee. Her
warm and personable communication style helped facilitate effective research and data sharing initiatives
among the members of the Higher Education Community in Maryland. As colleagues we are deeply
appreciative of her efforts. We feel blessed to have worked with her to serve higher education in Maryland.
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The Roads to Our Future
The key to any successful transportation construction project is careful planning that
includes an analysis of current conditions and infrastructure, key destinations and access
points, and efficient movement throughout the system of roads and highways. For a road to be
long-lasting, the foundation must be strong and the materials of the highest quality. It is also
imperative that there is on-going inspection, maintenance, and improvements based upon
input from all stakeholders and responsive to the changing environment. This is a concept that
can be applied to realize successful transitions for transfer students.
The process begins with a council of representative stakeholders who have the ability to
affect policy, charge the appropriate individuals or groups to implement the policy, and provide
the necessary human and fiscal resources. The council may establish work groups to address
specific aspects of transfer.
In Maryland, a Joint Leadership Council was established by the University System of
Maryland and the Maryland Association of Community Colleges. The Council is co-chaired by
the USM Chancellor and the MACC Executive Director. The Council is comprised of college and
university presidents and chief academic officers. Three work groups were established to
address access and capacity issues, transfer and articulation, and advocacy.
The access and capacity work group developed information reports to guide the work of
the Council. The reports dealt with the various paths high school graduates take in attaining
the bachelor’s degree, state and regional workforce needs, patterns of transfer, and projected
capacity. The advocacy work group addressed the ways in which information flow to the public
and the legislature could be enhanced, and the transfer and articulation work group established
a Philosophy Statement on Transfer and Access to the Bachelor’s Degree. The transfer and
articulation work group has now become the Transfer and Access Committee, a standing
committee of the Council, and reports annually on the progress in enhancing transfer.
This third annual report reflects on what has been accomplished, analyzes the
implications of the changing demographics in Maryland, and provides recommendations for
next steps.
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ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Joint Initiatives
Maryland Institute for Transfer Success
With more than 125 people in attendance, the third annual Maryland Institute for Transfer Success was
held in November, 2008 with great success. Presentations included how to use technology to ease the
transfer process, how to recruit students in general studies majors, and how to involve faculty in the
recruitment process. The next conference is planned for Spring 2010.
Faculty Discipline-based Meetings
Faculty from across the state continue to discuss issues related to transfer, general education and
articulation in business, psychology, biology, computer science and information systems. A
communications group started discussions in the past year. Periodic reports are presented to the Intersegmental Chief Academic Officers.
Increased ARTSYS Usage
During 2008, over 3.7 million pages of the ARTSYS web site were visited. This is compared to 2 million in
2003. Through the continuing partnership between the four-year and two-year institutions, this
valuable advising and information tool is being utilized more than ever.
Electronic Transcripts Cost Savings and Efficient Service
A conservative estimate of the cost savings for institutions sending electronic versus paper transcripts is
approximately $10 per transcript. With close to 34,000 electronic transcripts sent by Maryland
community colleges in 2008, this represents close to $340,000 in savings to the participating community
colleges. In 2008, Coppin State University, the University of Maryland, College Park and the University
of Maryland University College added the capability to “auto image” and “auto upload” the transcripts
resulting in cost (over $750,000) and time savings, and most importantly, more efficient service to
students.
The Associate of Science in Engineering
An agreement on the characteristics of new statewide, articulated degrees in electrical and computer
engineering is near completion. The concept of the ASE grew out of discussions of the Transfer and
Access Committee and has been ably brought to fruition by engineering faculty from two- and four-year
public and independent institutions facilitated by the Maryland Higher Education Commission.
University System of Maryland Transfer Initiatives
The USM continues to be a leader in transfer initiatives that include:
 Transfer information portal (http://mdtransfer.usmd.edu) that provides access to admissions,
financial aid, housing, and transfer credit (ARTSYS - http://artweb.usmd.edu) information,
 Transfer advising days at all Maryland community colleges where transfer advisors from each of the
USM institutions provide on-site information,
 Annual Transfer Professionals Day
 Increased financial aid to community college transfer students (see Appendix A).
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Selected Institutional Initiatives
Bowie State University
 Developed and distributed a transfer marketing piece for prospective transfer students and others
entitled “Transfer Students: Take A Look At Bowie State University.”
 Enhanced website for transfer students with sections including: FAQ’s, Tuition/Financial Aid, Visiting
Bowie State, Open House Dates and Recruitment Video.
 Created special mailings to graduates from local community colleges detailing opportunities for
them to continue their education at Bowie State University.
 Developed radio advertisements focusing on students transitioning to Bowie State University.
 Implemented GoalQuest software to engage and encourage prospective transfer students to apply
to Bowie State University and to facilitate admitted transfer students’ enrollment to Bowie State
University.
 Reviews the eligibility of transfer students with a minimum 3.5 cumulative grade point average and
a minimum of 30 credits for a renewable scholarship for tuition, fees and books.
Coppin State University
 Coppin State University Admissions Office currently collaborates with the Division of Academic
Affairs to promote faculty participation, advise students at transfer recruitment events and update
ARTSYS.
 The Registrar's Office recently employed a Transfer Specialist to enhance the transfer evaluation,
ARTSYS, and degree audit communications process between transfer students, faculty and staff.
 The Admissions and Records Office hosted transfer articulation agreement meetings with
community college representatives and CSU professors.
 The University is devising a new marketing brochure designed to attract more transfer students.
Frostburg State University
 Established new Career and Advising Services Center that serves as a resource hub for transfer
students, undeclared freshmen and sophomores, and students seeking a new major. We work
collaboratively with faculty and staff to access pertinent information and services for these students
in transition. Our goals are to prevent small problems from becoming insurmountable, help
students become engaged on campus, and provide a center where students can address change,
deal with obstacles and graduate.
 Established new RN to BSN program in collaboration with Allegany College of Maryland that
provides a seamless transition for nurses.
 Currently working with the Arundel Mills Higher Education Center to bring the FSU BS in Engineering
to the Center.
 Continued discussions with Hagerstown Community College to bring workforce-related programs to
the community college and to the USM-Hagerstown center. Began offering bachelor’s in early
childhood/elementary education at USMH in FY08. Recently agreed to offer BS in psychology at
USMH based on the growing number of psychology majors at HCC and the needs of human service
agencies in Washington County.
 Signed dual admissions agreements with Allegany College of Maryland and Hagerstown Community
College. Agreements with Frederick Community College and Garrett College are in process.
Salisbury University
 In Fall 2008, the Respiratory Therapy program was added to the program offerings at the
Universities at Shady Grove.
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
The Social Work BSW and MSW programs continue to be offered at Cecil Community College, the
USM Hagerstown center and the Eastern Shore Higher Education Center.
Towson University
 Several articulation agreements have been approved with Anne Arundel Community College and
there are numerous agreements in progress with Baltimore City Community College, Carroll
Community College, Cecil Community College, Howard Community College and Prince George's
Community College.
 Programs continue to be offered at the College of Southern Maryland Higher Education Center,
Universities at Shady Grove and Hagerstown Center.
 Towson University signed 23 MOU-articulation agreements with Harford Community College,
including an on-site, 2+2 program in Elementary -Special Education (EESE) scheduled for Fall 2008.
Additional articulation agreements have been signed with the Community College of Baltimore
County, including a dual enrollment program in Allied Health.
University of Baltimore
 The University of Baltimore now offers both part-time and full-time merit based scholarships for
transfer students who begin at UB in the Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 semesters. Students with at least
24 credits and a cumulative grade point average of 2.5 or higher are eligible.
 UB is currently reviewing and updating more than 50 articulation agreements in an effort to provide
more information to prospective transfer students.
 UB is partnering with its feeder institutions to provide more on-site and on-campus events for
students, specific populations (i.e. honors students) and faculty/staff members.
University of Maryland Baltimore County
 Established the Arthur T. Johnson Scholarship for Transfer Students recognizing the outstanding academic
achievements of Maryland community college students.
 Enrolled the initial cohort of new transfer students in the Sherman Teacher Education Scholars program for
students interested in pursuing teaching careers to address the shortage of highly qualified math and
science teachers and the achievement gap that exists between students from low-income families and their
counterparts.
 Launched a comprehensive transfer resources website that includes information on preparing to transfer,
the application process, student profiles, staff blog, and profiles of each of the Maryland community colleges
and articulation agreements with UMBC.
 Executed formal articulation agreements between the UMBC Information Systems programs and various ITrelated programs at the Community College of Baltimore County.
 Initiated formal articulation agreement discussions between the UMBC Information Systems programs and
various IT-related programs at Howard Community College, and between the UMBC Honors College and the
Rouse and Schoenbrodt Scholars Programs at Howard Community College.
University of Maryland College Park
 Established new partnerships through the Maryland Transfer Advantage Program, a transition
program designed to assist prospective students to effectively transfer and enroll at the University
of Maryland and earn a Bachelor’s degree. The following community colleges are participants:
Montgomery College, Prince George’s Community College, The College of Southern Maryland, and
Anne Arundel Community College.
 Opportunities through MTAP: When students have completed at least 15 credit hours at the
community college, they are encouraged to take advantage of the tuition scholarships. MTAP
participants are eligible to concurrently enroll in courses at the University of Maryland for a
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

discounted tuition rate. Students are allowed to enroll in one course per semester (no more than 3
credits), and can complete up to a maximum of 9 credit hours. Students receive a 25% course
tuition scholarship applied per course per semester (not to exceed 9 total credits).
MTAP Guaranteed Admissions: All students who complete a transfer studies certificate or 30 credit
hours with the completion of fundamental studies with a cumulative grade point average of a 3.0
are guaranteed admission as transfer students.
Pre-Transfer Advising Program: In Fall 2008, the University of Maryland instituted the Pre-Transfer
Advising Program for further outreach to the community colleges. Two experienced advisors were
selected to manage this new initiative and help community college students plan programs that will
prepare them well for their chosen majors.
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
 The University of Maryland Eastern Shore's Office of Admission and Recruitment has implemented a
team approach in recruiting transfer students. An admissions recruiter and a transfer credit
specialist from the registrar's office attend transfer days together in order to properly advise
students and give them better perspective into academic expectations.
 UMES also hosts counselor retreats for community college staff for information sharing and
professional development.
University of Maryland University College
 The University of Maryland University College was a pioneer in the creation of alliances and dual
admissions programs in Maryland. Currently, UMUC has alliances with fifteen Maryland community
colleges with benefits including application fee waivers, scholarships and access to advising,
computer labs, and library services. Baltimore City Community College joined the UMUC Alliance
program in June 2008. Over 10 articulated programs are included in the 2+2 partnership.
 UMUC has a weekly presence at all sixteen Maryland community colleges to offer assistance for
transfer advisement, admissions, financial aid and more. Students also enjoy concurrent registration
at both the community college and UMUC allowing for a shorter time to degree completion for both
the associate’s and bachelor’s degree.
 UMUC offers the Maryland Community College Transfer Scholarship for community college
graduates from Alliance partnership schools. This is the largest scholarship program in the state for
Maryland community college graduates. A series of Instant Scholarship Days are held at each
Alliance school throughout the year to offer financial assistance for community college graduates.
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Changing Demographics
A recent report, Knocking at the College Door (WICHE, March 2008), projects that by 2010-11,
Maryland’s public high school graduating class will become “majority-minority” and by 2014-15, the
proportion of White non-Hispanic graduates will be approximately 45.5 percent. While the largest
proportional growth will be among Hispanics, the African-American population will continue to
represent the largest portion (34%) of minority high school graduates. These trends are already evident
in the enrollment of underrepresented minorities in Maryland’s community colleges. By 2007, minority
students represented forty-six percent of the students enrolled.
Increases in Minority Student Enrollments at Maryland Community Colleges
Between 1991 and 2007, the proportion of African-American community college graduates increased
almost 50%. The representation of other minorities has doubled or tripled since 1990.
Increases in Minority Students Graduating from Maryland Community Colleges
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Transfer Trends in Enrollment and Graduation
Highlights
 In FY 2008, 17,988 students transferred to a USM institution.
 Of those who transferred in FY 2008, approximately 50 percent (8,993) came from a Maryland
community college.
 Over the past five years (FY 2004 - FY 2008) the number of Maryland Community College transfer
students has increased approximately 16 percent.
 In FY 2008, four of the 16 Maryland public two-year institutions – Montgomery College, the
Community College of Baltimore County, Anne Arundel Community College, and Prince George’s
Community College - supplied approximately two-thirds of all Maryland community college transfers
to USM institutions.
Maryland Community College Transfers to USM Institutions
FY 2008
MC
CCBC
AACC
PGCC
CSM
Howard
Harford
BCCC
Other CC's
0






250
500
750
1,000 1,250 1,500 1,750 2,000 2,250
Among Maryland community college students who transferred to a USM institution in FY 2008,
twenty-four (24%) percent were African-American; four percent (4%) were Hispanic.
Over the past five years (FY 2004 – FY 2008), the number of African-American community college
students transferring to a USM institution has increased 31 percent, while the number of Hispanic
community college transfer students has grown by 19 percent.
Three quarters of Maryland community college students who transferred to USM institutions in FY
2008 (based on fall 2007 enrollment) entered with either sophomore or junior status. The upward
trend in the percentage of students entering as juniors is positive and may be linked to renewed
articulation agreements and the Associate of Arts in Teaching program.
The largest proportion of Maryland community college transfers to USM institutions enrolled in the
following program areas in FY 2008: business and management (24%), social sciences (12%),
computer and information science (8%), education (7%), and the health professions (7%). Eight
percent of these students had an undeclared major. The number of undeclared majors declined 21
percent between FY 2004 and FY 2008.
Sixty-six percent (66%) of Maryland community college transfers to USM institutions enrolled as fulltime students in FY 2008 (based on fall 2007 enrollments). However, only fifty-three percent (53%)
of African-American transfer students were enrolled full time.
Forty-eight percent (48%) of the FY 2005 cohort of Maryland community college transfers to USM
institutions graduated within four years of transferring. Within the USM, the four-year graduation
rate for full-time Maryland community college transfers was highest at UMB (89%), UMCP (62%),
Salisbury (61%), Towson (60%), and Frostburg (54%).
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Next Steps

Encourage the completion of the ASE so that the new degree can be approved in Spring 2010.

Encourage the Inter-segmental Chief Academic Officers to charge the discipline groups with
developing statements of common outcomes for the first two years of study in their disciplines
based on recognized national standards.

Establish a working group of the Committee on Transfer and Access to review promising
practices for accelerated pathways to the Master’s degree, such as the University of Maryland
RN to MSN program.

Conduct a study of student transfer success by sub-sets of the growing minority populations
served, and to be served, by higher education in Maryland. In particular, explore more detailed
minority student success data. For example, success with on-line courses/programs, success by
program majors, especially in STEM related fields, etc.

Examine Maryland publicly funded scholarships available to transfer students, identify the gaps
or problem areas and make recommendations that would generate improvements over time
regarding both access and success.

Conduct a “transfer issues” survey on the effectiveness of the new transfer initiatives that have
been implemented over the last three years.
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APPENDIX A
Institutional Scholarship Funding for Maryland Community Colleges Students
Institution
USM
Bowie
Coppin
Frostburg
Salisbury
Towson
UB
UMB
UMBC
UMCP
UMES
UMUC
Totals
Per
Year
Year
FY 2007
FY 2008
FY 2009e
FY 2007
FY 2008
FY 2009e
FY 2007
FY 2008
FY 2009e
FY 2007
FY 2008
FY 2009e
FY 2007
FY 2008
FY 2009e
FY 2007
FY 2008
FY 2009e
FY 2007
FY 2008
FY 2009e
FY 2007
FY 2008
FY 2009e
FY 2007
FY 2008
FY 2009e
FY 2007
FY 2008
FY 2009e
FY 2007
FY 2008
FY 2009e
FY 2007
FY 2008
FY 2009e
FY 2007
FY 2008
FY 2009e*
Scholarships
$158,100
$120,231
$150,500
$240,901
$310,430
$391,649
$14,400
$32,500
$54,200
$25,000
$44,800
$60,000
$289,540
$352,626
$352,418
$268,900
$233,174
$142,000
$753,847
$824,515
$906,966
$397,000
$248,281
$250,000
$92,000
$531,494
$723,249
$1,156,299
$1,388,704
$1,500,000
$186,255
$303,427
$200,000
$660,327
$699,457
$909,975
$4,242,569
$5,089,639
$5,640,957
Recipients
17
22
25
135
176
180
13
39
65
21
21
30
155
179
181
206
186
83
381
496
545
79
121
125
95
343
454
267
312
320
38
85
42
315
352
412
1,722
2,332
2,462
Detailed information on scholarships (criteria, deadlines, number of awards) for Maryland community college
students transferring to senior higher education institutions is available through the Transfer Scholarship Guide at:
http://www.mhec.state.md.us/publications/StudentOutreachKit/CCTransferScholarshipGuide.pdf
e* indicates estimated or year-to-date expenditures
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