Articulation What?

One of the reasons I went back to school to get my Certificate in College Counseling was so I could learn and master the peculiar jargon that goes with this business. I understood about EA, ED (not the medical term), COA, and EFC, but when someone addressed the growing number of articulation agreements between two- and four-year institutions, I was at a loss. In fact, I find most people have no idea what an articulation agreement is, and almost no one is aware of what these agreements can mean for high school graduates who are either unprepared for or unable to afford a four-year institution.

Suppose instead of articulation, I substitute transfer. Then I see the fog lift, and the term comes into focus. An articulation agreement is a formal arrangement to transfer a defined set of academic credits between an academic program of one institution (usually a two-year community college) and a program within a college or campus of a 4-year institution. Many of these agreements come with guaranteed admission provisions enabling students to make smooth transitions between programs and eventually earn bachelor’s degrees. In other words, with careful planning and solid counseling support, a student can enter a community college, complete certain specified requirements, and then automatically transfer to a four-year degree-granting program from which he or she will ultimately graduate. For example, a student earning an associate’s degree at our local Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) who has followed certain guidelines can have guaranteed admission to any of the following schools:

Art Institute of Washington	Old Dominion University
Bluefield College	Park University
Christopher Newport University	Radford University
College of William and Mary	Randolph College
ECPI College	Regent University
Emory & Henry College	Regis University
Ferrum College	Strayer University
George Mason University	Sweet Briar College
George Washington University	Trinity University (DC)
Georgetown University	Troy University
Hollins University	United States Sports Academy
Liberty University	University of Mary Washington
James Madison University	University of Phoenix
Longwood University	University of Virginia
Lynchburg College	Virginia Commonwealth University
Mary Baldwin College	Virginia State University
Marymount University	Virginia Tech
National-Louis University	Virginia Union University
Norfolk State University	Virginia Wesleyan College
Nyack College

This is actually a pretty sweet deal that can save the smart student thousands of dollars and the pain of going through a more rigorous college admissions process during their senior year of high school.

In part because students began to recognize the financial and admissions advantages of articulation agreements, community colleges have seen an uptick in the number of students on the transfer track. But all is not well. According to the Washington Post, many schools are experiencing serious budget reductions which may affect the ability of community colleges to deliver on their promises. Even after losing 10% of its state funding and preparing for the possible loss of another 5%, NOVA finds summer enrollment up 10% from last year. Obviously this has something to do with the economy. But between reductions in funding and increases in enrollment, NOVA may be unable to provide enough courses for students seeking to graduate within the two-year time frame required by many articulation agreements. This would effectively kill the dreams of many students trusting community colleges to provide an economical and sure path to a bachelor’s degree. Maybe we should do something about that.