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Rhoades Opens 2nd Hearing on College Articulation System
by Again Calling on Schools to Put Students First
Publicly-Supported Colleges &
Universities Would Have 1 Year
to Develop Better Way to
Transfer Credits
HARRISBURG -- At
the second in a series of hearings held by the Senate Education Committee,
committee chairman James J. Rhoades (R-29), today again called on Pennsylvania's
publicly-supported colleges and universities to create a statewide articulation
system that would allow students to transfer credits more easily from one school
to another.
Rhoades said legislation he
has introduced, Senate Bill 1147, would require Pennsylvania's community
colleges, universities in the State System of Higher Education, and the
state-related universities to adopt a statewide articulation system. If they
fail to do so, the Department of Education would establish one for them.
"I believe that this is a
tremendously important issue for students who attend colleges and universities
in Pennsylvania," said Rhoades. "I am eager to work with our colleges and
universities, my colleagues in the General Assembly and the Administration to
make the coals of this bill a reality."
Rhoades called on
Pennsylvania's publicly-supported colleges and universities to work as partners,
to set aside "parochial interests," and to "put students first." Participation
by independent colleges and universities would be optional, he noted.
"We have a legal compact
with these schools to provide state funding in exchange for low tuition. So, we
should make it simple and efficient for students to transfer their core courses
and credits from one institution to another," Rhoades. "I think that this
important service should become part of the fabric of the compacts we have with
those schools."
Remarks of Sen. James J.
Rhoades
This morning the committee
convenes its second public hearing on Senate Bill 1147 -- legislation I have
introduced to make it faster, simpler and more efficient for a student to
transfer core academic courses from one Pennsylvania college to another.
As I indicated at the
beginning of the hearing we held on this issue last week, I believe that this is
a tremendously important issue for students who attend colleges and universities
in Pennsylvania. And, we need to begin these conversations about state-wide
articulation agreements by acknowledging that higher education is about those
students -- not the institutions that exist to serve them.
We should all be proud of
the colleges and universities that we have in this Commonwealth. They are among
the finest in the nation. And they provide an outstanding education to the
students who attend them. In part, that quality is based on the diversity they
offer.
We have community colleges
that provide job training and offer students the foundation courses on which
they can build four-year degrees. We have state universities that offer high
quality four-year and graduate programs at locations all across Pennsylvania.
We have major research universities that are supposed to keep tuition for
Pennsylvania students low in exchange for annual state funding. And we have a
collection of independent colleges and universities that provide a diverse
offering of programs and courses in all manner of subject areas.
What we do not have is a
coordinated system of higher education. We don't have a seamless system -- and
I don't believe that we ever will.
However, for those schools
with which we have a legal compact to provide state funding in exchange for low
tuition, we should make it as simple and efficient as possible for students to
transfer their core courses and credits from one institution to another.
I think that that is a
service that publicly-supported institutions should offer to all of our
students. And I think that it should become part of the fabric of the compacts
we have with those institutions.
This is not a solution in
search of problem. But it is not a problem that presents a simple solution. It
is a problem that we can only solve collaboratively, by building a consensus
toward achieving the goal of making higher education as accessible as possible.
Together, I think that it is goal that we can achieve.
If we all commit to put our
students first and our institutions second, I believe that we can forge a
solution. And I believe that we can have confidence that we have done the right
thing for our students.
So, let's continue this
dialogue today and take another step toward making this goal a reality.
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