Four higher education partners sign collaborative agreement to collectively simplify their transfer pathways and help more students transfer and complete bachelor’s degrees

Dallas, Texas -- Leaders from Dallas College, Texas A&M University-Commerce, Texas Woman’s University and the University of North Texas at Dallas signed a collaborative agreement today at Dallas College. Known as the Dallas Transfer Collaborative, the partnership aims to help students successfully earn their bachelor’s degrees on schedule and with reduced financial burden.

Through the agreement, the four higher education partners have committed to a shared governance structure, academic alignment, real-time credit-to-degree technology, coordinated advising and student success services, and data sharing.

“While many students enter community college intending to transfer to a university in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree, the complexities of the transfer process mean that far too few of them are able to do so,” said Dr. Justin Lonon, chancellor of Dallas College. “Our collaboration aims to rectify this situation by collectively simplifying our transfer pathways and developing targeted associate degrees that map to multiple bachelor’s programs.”

Supported by initial funding from the Commit Partnership’s Opportunity 2040 Fund and JP Morgan Chase, the collaboration includes new programs and technologies designed to simplify a student’s transfer journey from community college to a university and into the workforce.

“To reach our ‘true north’ goal of at least half of all 25-to-34-year-old residents of Dallas County earning a living wage by 2040, we must help more students attain postsecondary credentials and begin productive careers in high-demand fields, with a special focus on students who are currently experiencing economic disadvantage,” said Todd Williams, CEO of Commit Partnership.

Preventing Lost Credits: Meta Majors and Transfer Hub Website

The first phase of the new collaboration begins this fall with the introduction of simplified programs of study, or Meta Majors, between Dallas College and university partners. These Meta Majors feature mutually agreed-upon blocks of lower-division courses that will be accepted for credit toward several related majors. Emphasizing high-demand fields, the first set of Meta Majors will launch in business, education and health sciences in late August. 

Later this fall, the collaborative will also launch a transfer hub website, including resources and information required for transfer to Texas A&M University-Commerce, Texas Woman’s University, the University of North Texas at Dallas, and other institutions. The site will include real-time credit-to-degree technology, allowing prospective students to quickly and easily see how their credits will transfer into degrees at participating institutions and view their progress toward degrees.

“These first two components—Meta Majors and the transfer hub website—will help prevent students from losing transfer credits and will help meet the immediate planning needs of prospective transfer students,” said Dr. Warren von Eschenbach, interim president of the University of North Texas at Dallas. “Loss of credit, specifically due to not meeting degree requirements, has emerged as a major barrier to success for transfer students as they often struggle to figure out what lower division credits will transfer and apply to different majors and at different universities,” he added.

In fall 2022, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board reported that more than 13,000 Texas students who transferred from a two-year public institution to a university did not receive course credit for at least one lower division-level course. The most frequently reported reason for credit denial was that courses fell outside specified degree requirements. In that semester, more than 21,000 courses were denied credit for that reason.

Future Plans for “Friction-Free” Transfers

After its first year, the Dallas Transfer Collaborative plans to develop and launch further Meta Majors, including STEM/IT, and explore the development of more streamlined transfer processes and transfer-specific student success supports.

“The overarching aim of the Dallas Transfer Collaborative is to make the transfer process as simple and easy to follow as possible,” said Dr. Carine Feyten, chancellor of TWU. “At the same time, we want to give prospective transfer students a broad range of attractive options in terms of academics, degrees, campuses, and cultures.”