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December 16, 2016

‘Reverse transfer’ degrees awarded to about 600 Missouri students

Nearly 600 students have received an associate degree through Missouri’s Reverse Transfer Program, launched statewide in 2014.

The program offers students who have completed at least 15 credit hours at a qualifying two-year college and transferred to a four-year college or university in Missouri the opportunity to transfer credit back to the two-year college to complete an associate degree.

Individuals who have earned college credit but are not currently enrolled in school are also eligible to participate in the program.

“An associate degree can offer many benefits – more job opportunities and higher pay – and motivate students to continue their education,” said Zora Mulligan, Missouri commissioner of higher education. “The Reverse Transfer Program makes it easier for students who have earned credit from multiple colleges to receive a degree.”

Higher education institutions participating in the program have reverse transfer coordinators on campus to assist students with the process.

Legislation, approved in 2012, called for Missouri to create a reverse transfer program. After a year-long pilot project, the program was expanded statewide to include all public higher education institutions. A dozen independent colleges also participate in the program.

Following the pilot project, Missouri was one of three states chosen to participate in a national reverse transfer project. The project will enable students to transfer college credit from state to another to receive an associate degree. Higher education officials say the ability to transfer credit across state lines will result in more associate degrees being awarded in Missouri.

The reverse transfer program is one way the Department of Higher Education is working to increase the percentage of Missourians with a degree. The department’s Big Goal for Higher Education calls for 60 percent of the adult working-age population to have a two- or four-year degree or professional certificate by the year 2025. About 60 percent of the jobs in Missouri will require a degree or certificate by 2018.

For more information about the Missouri Reverse Transfer program, dhe.mo.gov/MissouriReverseTransferforstudents.php.