Editors' Note

Smoothing the path for transfer: Implementing interstate passport at community colleges

“…Research shows that states with and without transfer‐oriented policies have nearly equivalent outcomes for transfer students because quality of transfer policies varies (Giani, 2019). In states with less robust transfer policy, it is up to college personnel to develop and maintain transfer and articulation policies with other institutions often called transfer partnerships (Bragg et al., 2020). Transfer partnerships are valuable, but they also have challenges and limitations.…”

“…As such, there are no circumstances under which any student with a Passport will have to retake courses to fulfill any LDGE requirements if they remain within the Network. In essence, the Interstate Passport could be viewed as a “mega‐articulation agreement” or multi‐institution Transfer Partnership among Network institutions (Bragg et al., 2020; Sherman & Shea, 2020, p. 8).…”

“…Jenkins and Fink (2016) note that only about half of students who transfer from community colleges earn a bachelor's degree. Recommendations to improve transfer policy within states and institutions abound (Crowe et al, 2020;Yeh & Wetzstein, 2020); changes in transfer policy and practice are especially crucial for students of color and low-income students, who research has shown, are disproportionately impacted by barriers to successful transfer (Budd & Stowers, 2015;Dougherty & Kienzl, 2006;La Sota & Zumeta, 2016;Taylor & Jain, 2017). A recent study by Meza and Blume (2020) found evidence of a racial transfer gap and suggests that good transfer policy and practice at receiving institutions is particularly important to addressing to these inequities (Crisp et al, 2020).…”

“…Innovation in policy and practice, and collaboration among higher education institutions and between states are required to address the transfer challenge (Crowe et al, 2020;Meza & Blume, 2020;Yeh & Wetzstein, 2020). This article describes the Interstate Passport, a innovative collaborative effort to improve transfer, focusing on its implementation at a rural community college.…”