Tis the Season - The 12 Surprises of Transfer

A parody of the famous Christmas Carol to help set the season. Like any holiday celebrated by millions and millions of people, student transfer has its surprises and is celebrated by millions of people this year.

It is a cumulative song, in that each verse is built on the previous verses. It culminates on the twelfth day, when the gifts are 12 Drummers Drumming, 11 Pipers Piping, 10 Lords a-Leaping, 9 Ladies Dancing, 8 Maids a-Milking, 7 Swans a-Swimming, 6 Geese a-Laying, 5 Gold Rings, 4 Colly Birds (often given as "Calling Birds"), 3 French Hens, 2 Turtle Doves, and a Partridge in a Pear Tree.

It has been one of the most popular and most-recorded Christmas songs throughout the past century. Now, let's try singing the CollegeTransfer.Net version.



On the first day of Transfer, my counselor sent to me:

A note suggesting I finish college at Monster U.

On the second day of Transfer, my counselor sent to me:

Two transfer agreements (my college and Monster U.)

A note suggesting I finish college at Monster U.

On the third day of Transfer, my counselor sent to me:

Three waffling words. (Remember.comparability, applicability and articulation)

Two transfer agreements (my college and Monster U.)

A note suggesting I finish college at Monster U.

On the fourth day of Transfer, my counselor sent to me:

Four phones calling. (No one stop shop.)

Three waffling words. (Remember.comparability, applicability and articulation)

Two transfer agreements (my college and Monster U.)

A note suggesting I finish college at Monster U.

On the fifth day of Transfer, my counselor sent to me:

Five golden loans. (Pay tuition over thirty years.)

Four phones calling. (No one stop shop.)

Three waffling words. (Remember.comparability, applicability and articulation)

Two transfer agreements (my college and Monster U.)

A note suggesting I finish college at Monster U.

On the sixth day of Transfer, my counselor sent to me:

Six programs to ponder. (How does this help me get a job?)

Five golden loans. (Pay tuition over thirty years.)

Four phones calling. (No one stop shop.)

Three waffling words. (Remember.comparability, applicability and articulation)

Two transfer agreements (my college and Monster U.)

A note suggesting I finish college at Monster U.

On the seventh day of Transfer, my counselor sent to me:

Seven ways credits crumble.[1]

Six programs to ponder. (How does this help me get a job?)

Five golden loans. (Pay tuition over thirty years.)

Four phones calling. (No one stop shop.)

Three waffling words. (Remember.comparability, applicability and articulation)

Two transfer agreements (my college and Monster U.)

A note suggesting I finish college at Monster U.

On the eighth day of Transfer, my counselor sent to me:

Eight careers considered. (Targeted aspirations)

Seven ways credits crumble.[1]

Six programs to ponder. (How does this help me get a job?)

Five golden loans. (Pay tuition over thirty years.)

Four phones calling. (No one stop shop.)

Three waffling words. (Remember.comparability, applicability and articulation)

Two transfer agreements (my college and Monster U.)

A note suggesting I finish college at Monster U.

On the ninth day of Transfer, my counselor sent to me:

Nine semesters sequenced. (four years? No way)

Eight careers considered. (Targeted aspirations)

Seven ways credits crumble.[1]

Six programs to ponder. (How does this help me get a job?)

Five golden loans. (Pay tuition over thirty years.)

Four phones calling. (No one stop shop.)

Three waffling words. (Remember.comparability, applicability and articulation)

Two transfer agreements (my college and Monster U.)

A note suggesting I finish college at Monster U.

On the tenth day of Transfer, my counselor sent to me:

Ten electives evaporate. (Too many electives to articulate)

Nine semesters sequenced. (four years? No way)

Eight careers considered. (Targeted aspirations)

Seven ways credits crumble.[1]

Six programs to ponder. (How does this help me get a job?)

Five golden loans. (Pay tuition over thirty years.)

Four phones calling. (No one stop shop.)

Three waffling words. (Remember.comparability, applicability and articulation)

Two transfer agreements (my college and Monster U.)

A note suggesting I finish college at Monster U.

On the eleventh day of Transfer, my counselor sent to me:

Eleven faculty fainting (They can’t believe I can persist)

Ten electives evaporate. (Too many electives to articulate)

Nine semesters sequenced. (four years? No way)

Eight careers considered. (Targeted aspirations)

Seven ways credits crumble.[1]

Six programs to ponder. (How does this help me get a job?)

Five golden loans. (Pay tuition over thirty years.)

Four phones calling. (No one stop shop.)

Three waffling words. (Remember.comparability, applicability and articulation)

Two transfer agreements (my college and Monster U.)

A note suggesting I finish college at Monster U.

On the twelfth day of Transfer, my counselor sent to me:

Twelve websites a-leaping (To Find transfer information.)

Eleven faculty fainting (They can’t believe I can persist)

Ten electives evaporate. (Too many electives to articulate)

Nine semesters sequenced. (four years? No way)

Eight careers considered. (Targeted aspirations)

Seven ways credits crumble.[1]

Six programs to ponder. (How does this help me get a job?)

Five golden loans. (Pay tuition over thirty years.)

Four phones calling. (No one stop shop.)

Three waffling words. (Remember.comparability, applicability and articulation)

Two transfer agreements (my college and Monster U.)

A note suggesting I finish college at Monster U.



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[1] too old, too little, not rigorous, not comparable, not relevant, not applicable, not required

The Catch-22 Dilemma with Transfer of Credit

The postsecondary education system is severely challenged by Academic Credit Portability both at the micro and macro levels. We are in a Catch-22 type dilemma. The underlying assumption on who has the responsibility to address the transfer process has generally rested with institutions. We expect every institution to provide better information on transfer policies and publish their course articulation agreements. We expect “feeder” schools (a.k.a. community colleges and other 2-year institutions) to prepare students for transfer to a baccalaureate institution and to guide their course selection accordingly. Because institutions generally operate independently, the costs associated with transfer processing arise from the methods and procedures in enrollment and articulation. Traditional enrollment and registration processing assumes student and course data is internal, or within “the grasp of” systems managed by the institution. Transfer processing introduces a new wrinkle to this traditional model where data and methods to process rules and policies cross institution boundaries. Course data and prior academic progress is somewhat analogous to bank-account information, but today it is not as easily accessible. 

At the macro level, states have absorbed the transfer processing costs, which are concealed within the ever-increasing administrative budget of the state-funded institutions. The primary focus for improving transfer processing in a public-institution system is on making academic institutions accessible, open and transparent to the prospective student population. Once enrolled, student progress towards graduation has an impact on work-force development and tax revenues, and thus on the economy. Transfer outcomes can “bleed” across state lines, creating positive or negative flows of transfer students (“net migration”). This movement is challenging to states as they compete for the necessary human capital; to support their economic development objectives. Public institutions view the transfer of students and course credits differently than private and for-profit institutions, further complicating the equation. 

The assumption that institutions can “go it alone” has been based on initiatives and new costs to help influence their policies and administrative practices. Some states have created common course numbering systems or attempted to build transfer policies for general education requirements. Others have created initiatives to develop transfer articulation agreements among collaborating institutions and to present “planning guides” to prospective students prior to their enrollment as transfers. 

States and institutions are doing what they can to support transfers “in and out,” given access to tools they either build on their own or acquire. They often duplicate efforts, mapping course equivalencies and attempting to facilitate every transfer-student need, incrementally. The result: attempts to build ‘standalone’ or ‘regional’ solutions and to dedicate staff resources, further complicating processes and increasing costs. The intent is to make the process seamless and user friendly. However, the lack of process consistency, the lack of accurate data, the lack of a federated toolset to support collaboration, and a reluctance to tackle process improvements focused on serving both institutions and students make these investments counterproductive, because they are based on subjective, labor-intensive, and geographically-bound approaches.

The underlying assumption that institutions handle transfers “in and out” with internal processes is part of the problem. It is misleading to think that every institution has the resources and wherewithal to solve the transfer challenges they face internally, as well as the ones their student-consumers bring to them. Each institution’s education-mission framework is a lot like each country’s monetary policies, conversion rules, fees and methods of exchange; recognition of the complexities of inter-institution Academic Course Mobility leads to the conclusion that we need a standard like the “international monetary fund” that equates courses in the context of their curriculums and/or learning outcomes.

Branding and Transfer of Credit

Academic credentials are often equated with degree completion. They are like the tags sewn inside the back collar of our shirts or on the hem of our dresses. We carry the brand around where ever we go. Regardless of whether we have completed the academic program, we still look to be a member of the group. The institution’s brand plays a major role in creating the perception of the value of someone’s prior academic accomplishment.

Employment history is similarly “branded.” The organizations for which you have worked and your contributions to the goals of those organizations are another form of credentials.

These brands also play a major role in how transfer-credit evaluation, assessment and articulation vary. Results of an evaluation of transfer credits and course equivalencies can vary greatly. They are based upon who reviews the courses an applicant has taken at another institution and/or the training the applicant has received as a result of their work experience. The decision makers’ perception of the quality of that institution or that employer may vary.

To what degree should a decision that can significantly impact the lives of prospective students be subjective? The challenge to make the process of transfer of credit fair is steep because of the inherent implications mentioned. Judgments are subjective and influenced by the level of information revealed, reviewed and included in the assessment process. When information is scarce or stale or nonexistent, one risks losing the value of prior learning, even though all learning has value.

Thus, we need to utilize ways to minimize the subjectivity and lack of information when considering transfer of credit, by moving away from standalone and isolated systems to systems that help overcome the gaps in access, archival and reflection. Transfer of credit should be based upon learning outcomes reflected in the skills, knowledge, competencies and effort demonstrated by prior learning.