Below you will find an email from Executive Vice Chancellor and University Provost Wendy Hensel detailing a new CUNY-wide initiative on transfer. CUNY and the University Faculty Senate are partnering on this initiative to facilitate transfer within majors. Members of this partnership have already contacted the relevant Department Chairs at CSI to ensure that our faculty and programs are well represented in the process. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns. Furthermore, I will be glad to discuss this initiative further at the next Faculty Senate.
By Michael E. Steiper, PhD
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Dear Presidents, Provosts, Deans, and Chief Academic Officers,
Since beginning as EVC in June last year, I have been struck by the incredible commitment of every faculty and staff member to our students and their success. Students are at the heart of everything that we do at CUNY, and their wellbeing and ability to achieve their goals are central to every conversation. I am proud to be at an institution that “walks the talk” about student success and constantly seeks to improve the student experience.
I write to you now to share our new initiative regarding transfer and seek your support on behalf of our students.
As you know, CUNY held numerous town halls with faculty, staff, and students over the last year to identify priorities for our next strategic roadmap. One issue raised repeatedly was the need to ensure our students can transfer in a major within CUNY schools without the loss of credit or progress toward the major.
Although much progress has been made to facilitate transfer, work remains to be done. Students continue to lose credits upon transfer in the same major, delaying academic progression and resulting in frustration and lost resources. Time to degree completion directly correlates with graduation rates, and factors that unnecessarily delay progression are inefficient, costly, and unjustifiable. These effects are amplified for students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, who often have fewer safety nets and experience on which to rely.
For these and other reasons, Chancellor Matos Rodríguez has identified the creation of an enhanced transfer experience as a key priority of CUNY’s new strategic plan, which will be released soon.
This month, we launch a comprehensive effort to: 1) Facilitate the seamless transfer of credits from associates (A.A./A.S) to bachelor’s degrees within CUNY for the same major, and 2) Review all policies, practices, and procedures to identify and resolve institutional barriers to successful transfer. Associate Vice Chancellor Alicia Alvero will lead this effort for the Office of Academic Affairs.
Recognizing the centrality of faculty in this process, I have asked the University Faculty Senate to act as our leadership partner in these efforts. I am pleased that UFS Chair John Verzani has appointed Professor Lubie Alatriste for this purpose. We are committed to working together across faculty governance channels with full transparency for the benefit of our students.
Student leaders also will be playing an important part in these efforts. We have begun discussions and will expand them in the days ahead to ensure we are responsive to the lived reality of transfer at CUNY.
I am happy to report that the Board of Trustees is enthusiastic about and supportive of our efforts with this initiative. A resolution to this effect unanimously passed at the meeting of the Committee on Education Policy on January 23 and will soon be brought before the full board.
In the coming weeks, my office will offer a series of town halls at which faculty, students, and staff can engage with me, AVC Alvero, and Professor Alatriste to learn more about the transfer initiative. A website for this work will launch within the next two weeks and will serve as a resource for updates and progress throughout the process. In addition, my office is committed to regular updates to our constituencies on this vital matter. Much more to come soon, but I wanted to alert you to our efforts as we begin them.
I look forward to our work together in the days ahead.
Sincerely,
Wendy F. Hensel
Executive Vice Chancellor and University Provost
The City College of New York
