College Credit in the Time of Coronavirus – Inside Higher Ed
Major higher education groups have come together to urge colleges to be flexible and transparent when accepting credits in light of the public health pandemic.
Six major higher education groups issued a set of principles Thursday for accepting academic credit during this tumultuous time.
The statement, drafted by the American Council on Education and signed by the leaders of groups representing public, private nonprofit and community colleges, highlights eight practices institutions should follow to best help students navigate the transfer of credit process — which is difficult to negotiate in the best of times — during the coronavirus pandemic.
Students often find that some or many or their academic credits from one college aren’t accepted when they try to transfer to a different institution, especially if they are attempting to move from two-year to four-year colleges, or from nationally accredited colleges to those accredited by regional agencies.
At the center of each principle is the acknowledgment that this is an unprecedented time that calls for institutions to respond in unprecedented, flexible ways, said Ted Mitchell, president and CEO of ACE. Institutions also need to put their students at the center of their decisions and remember that this situation is only exacerbating existing inequities in higher education.