Ancilla College recently signed an articulation agreement with St. Joseph’s College. Ancilla College and St. Joseph’s College are two members of the Northern Indiana Catholic College Consortium (NICCC).
“What makes this agreement unique is the reverse transfer component,” according to Dr. Joanna Blount, Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs at Ancilla College. This agreement allows St. Joseph’s to work with Ancilla students to fulfill the completion of the associate degree after a student transfers. This is the first of Ancilla College’s reverse transfer articulation agreements to offer this option to students. A similar agreement with the third partner in the NICCC, Calumet College, is in progress.
According to Blount, students don’t realize the benefits of having the associate degree. Not only does it lock the credits into a completed degree, employers see it as a sign of persistence which leads to job placement.
“This process will help Indiana meet its college completion goal. Being able to transfer, yet still earn the associate degree, is an important component of on-time completion for students,” stated Blount.
While this does lead to an increased completion rate for the college, it is just as advantageous for the student. The completion of the degree “will allow other colleges and employers to see it as the student has persisted through the associate degree,” according to Blount. The additional degree, though already earned, is often not rewarded as students do not take the initiative to complete the process. “The reverse transfer language puts it in the hands of the college.”
Ancilla College (www.ancilla.edu<http://www.ancilla.edu/>), part of The Center at Donaldson, offers 18 associate degrees and 10 athletic programs. Since 1937, the College has been a sponsored ministry of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ. It is a small, private, liberal arts school in Donaldson, Indiana. It is located two miles south of U.S. 30 on Union Road near Plymouth, Indiana.
