With more than 4 million Texans having some college, but no degree, UTBP hopes its Transfer Credit Calculator can help.
Now available on the University of Texas Permian Basin website, it helps people get an estimate of what credits are likely to transfer to the university.
“What I really like about it is an addition to that estimation, it will allow you to apply those credits to up to three different majors. It will tell you how far along you are toward the completion of those three majors, so if you’re at a place where say you have a fair bit of college credit, but no degree, and maybe your goal is to finish your degree in the fastest way possible. This will help you figure out what is the fastest path for you to graduation, to a credential,” Becky Spurlock, vice president of Student Development and Leadership, said.
“It’s also a tool that if you didn’t select a major, or an area of study that you’re actually closer on, it will tell you, Hey, you didn’t select one of these three, but you’re actually further towards this degree. It’s a very useful tool,” she added.
Admissions people tell her that one of the top questions they get is, “How will my credits transfer?”
“There are a lot of people out there that want to take what credit they do have and find a way to get a credential. This tool allows people to explore that and do it on their own time, which is often 10 or 11 o’clock at night, or when they have free time,when an office might not be open to speak to somebody,” Spurlock said.
Before the site was launched, Spurlock said they tested it with students at UTPB, Odessa and Midland colleges and got “really great feedback.”
“People found it friendly and easy to use,” she said.
She added that many people prefer the opportunity to explore on their own before talking to somebody.
“This allows them to do that,” Spurlock said.
UTPB partnered with a company called EAB, an ed tech company, for the site.
Spurlock said they don’t know how many users they have yet.
It’s not an app, but you can create an account and it will save your information, but you don’t have to.
“So again, the user has the choice. If they just want to go in and poke around they can do that. If they want to create an account, that information will be saved and then we can access it on our side, as well, to assist that potential student if they choose to apply. It’ll be a time-saver for them because they’ll have entered that information already,” she added.
Anybody can use the Transfer Credit Calculator, but it’s probably most useful for people who are considering coming to UTPB.
“… If you’ve been admitted here already, we’ve already evaluated your transcripts for your credit. But say you are looking at taking some classes somewhere else, you could go in and put information in to see how those courses may transfer using the credit calculator. But if you’re a current student, you could also do that with your advisor, or the registrar’s office. There are lots of folks on campus who could assist you with that. But certainly it’s available on our website to anybody,” Spurlock said.
She added that it is an estimation of credit, not a guarantee of credit.
“… We do have to review those transcripts. But it is a well developed piece of software where we have spent months looking at the common core across Texas. We use all the data we have from previous credits that have transferred and it is a program that retains information and becomes smarter as it goes. The more credit we accept from different campuses, the more the system knows how we handle that particular credit. While it’s an estimation … we feel good about the quality of that estimation,” Spurlock said.
She added that the transfer calculator is similar to cost of attendance calculators that estimate how much it might cost you to go to college based on how many hours you might take, where you live, whether you’re going to live on campus and other factors.
“… We hope all of this helps demystify the college experience. The college application process, we want to make that as smooth and easy as we can for people because it can be intimidating. We don’t want it to be; we do our very best for it not to be, but I think for a lot of folks, they feel nervous or worried and we want to ease that as much as we can for folks,” Spurlock said.
Most students transfer to UTPB in from Odessa College.
“… But we have students that come with credit from all over and so many, many people have multiple transcripts from multiple institutions. Maybe they took dual credit in high school before somewhere else before they moved here. Maybe they took a class at OC or MC (Midland College). Maybe they started online somewhere else. So it’s not uncommon for transfer students to have multiple transcripts,” Spurlock said.
“… Because our programs are strong, and we have so such a comprehensive suite of programs … particularly online programs, and our cost is so affordable, we’re a place that a lot of people choose to finish their degree. We’ll see folks sometimes with 10 transcripts and we’re happy to help them sort out how to make the most of the credit they have and get them towards the completion of a credential here,” Spurlock said.
She added that UTPB is very focused on doubling the number of credentials awarded and increasing the number of people in the service area that have credentials, whether it’s certificates or four-year degrees.
“… This is just another step we’re taking as an institution to make it easier on folks,” Spurlock said.
She added that there are a lot of factors that play into so many people having some college but no degree.
“… We’ve grown the number of dual credit programs over the last 20 years in higher ed, so some people have some credit from their time in high school that maybe didn’t go on to additional degrees. I think lots of students start at community colleges and then may find it difficult to make the transfer to a four-year institution just depending on what happens in their life. I think there if you if you read nationally in here in the state of Texas, I think transfer credit is a big issue,” Spurlock said.
She added that transfer process may not be friendly sometimes.
“… Texas has had a number of initiatives to try to make it easier. They’ve established, for example, a central Texas core that is supposed to be accepted at any university …,” Spurlock said.
Sometimes people have credits that are 10 or 15 years old, so they have to go back and read a catalog to see what that course was like.
“But I think for a lot of people, it’s the path of life; things happen. I think a lot of people will tell you when they stopped, they thought I’ll come back and then very often life happens,” Spurlock said.
“A family member may need you, or you might have a new job opportunity, or you might have a baby, or expand your family and another way. Then it seems the longer you wait, the more daunting often it can seem to restart,” she added.
The economy can be another factor.
“I think sometimes when the economy is booming people might be able to find a job that pays quite a lot. And so they’ll think, well, I’ll put this on hold to do that. But of course part of what we want to do is equip people not just for that first job out of college, but for that fifth job. We want to give them the skills to be able to be recession-proof; to be able to move through industry,” Spurlock said.
She noted that there are going to be jobs five and 10 years that don’t exist yet.
“… We want to give people the skills that we know employers are looking for. We know employers are interested in teamwork, communication skills, analytical skills, technology skills, communication of all kinds — written and verbal. And so yes, degree matters, and major matters to some extent. If you’re going to be an accountant, of course you need an accounting degree. But for many jobs, the overall experience that you’re going to get in college, teaching you how to think analytically, how to write well, how to speak well, how to … be a problem solver, those things can serve you in a lot of different industries,” Spurlock said.
