All credits from 2-year colleges now transferable Friday, September 14, 2007 • BY ANA M. ALAYA • Star-Ledger Staff A new law will make it easier and more affordable for thousands of New Jersey county college students to pursue degrees at the state's public four-year colleges and universities. Under the measure signed by Gov. Jon Corzine yesterday, the four-year schools will be required to accept credits earned at any of the 19 county colleges for a two-year associate's degree -- eliminating the need for students to retake classes and spend more money on tuition. A joint agreement hammered out by representatives of both sets of institutions -- to be distributed next week -- calls for an alignment of core-class standards, addressing the concern that not all county college credits are equal in value. "This statewide transfer legislation is a landmark achievement for higher education in New Jersey," said Richard Wellbrock, president of the New Jersey Council of Community Colleges. "It places a high value on an associate degree earned at community colleges, and will be a huge benefit to our students." The state's private colleges are not bound by the transfer agreement. State college presidents are urging the independent institutions to join. Flanked by college presidents, students and lawmakers as he signed the bill at Camden County College, Corzine said the legislation was about fairness. "Often transfer students are forced to pay for the same college course, adding unnecessary costs and time to earn their degree," the governor said. "This partnership will eliminate that burden." The law will replace a confusing patchwork of pacts between institutions, one that has frustrated some county college students and cost them money. Though the state's county colleges, three research universities and nine state colleges and universities are part of one system, each sets its own curriculum. When students transferred in the past, faculty review committees decided which credits would be accepted. The colleges have tried to ease the confusion by setting up a Web database so students can look up which courses are transferable. But, some students said, the process remained unpredictable and sometimes subject to arbitrary decisions by administrators and faculty. The new transfer program will begin with the 2008-09 academic year. Forty other states have similar transfer-credit laws. "Governor Corzine has sent an important message to the 400,000 students who attend New Jersey's community colleges annually," said Lawrence Nespoli, executive director of the New Jersey Council of County Colleges. The new law "replaces what is now a college-to-college, course-by-course approach to a community college student transferring, with a more common statewide approach," Nespoli said. "And that's a big shift and an important one." THROUGH THE WRINGER The change follows a sharp increase in transfers from county colleges. About 4,100 transfer students are admitted annually to the state's eight traditional four-year institutions, compared with 2,900 seven years ago. The problem with transferring credits has long simmered in New Jersey, then came to a boil in the past two years when county college students on the state's NJSTARS scholarship found themselves repeating courses at four-year colleges -- forcing the state to pay twice for the same classes. Under NJSTARS, students who graduate in the top 20 percent of their high school class receive a full scholarship to a county college. NJSTARS students who graduate with a 3.0 grade-point average from a county college get another state scholarship to attend a four-year college. Rutgers University student and NJSTARS recipient Lacey Plichta, 21, said she was "put through the wringer" when she transferred from Middlesex County College, losing nine credits because Rutgers would not honor a county-level computer course and two Spanish classes. Plichta, who testified in favor of the new legislation, attended Corzine's bill-signing yesterday. She was joined by her mother and her younger sister, Meagan, who is attending county college and is also an NJSTARS recipient. "I'm really excited that, hopefully, my sister won't have any problems when she gets to transfer in two years," Plichta said. Montclair State University President Susan A. Cole said the new transfer agreement will be circulated Monday at a meeting of the New Jersey Presidents' Council, the statewide organization for the presidents of New Jersey's colleges and universities. "I think it's a terrific step forward," Cole said. "It certainly provides for everything the law is going for." Ana Alaya may be reached at aalaya@starledger.com or (973) 392-4258. © 2007 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with permission.