Waterbury, Conn. – A new reverse transfer program will result in what academic officials hope is a pleasant surprise for some Charter Oak State College students over the holiday break. For the next several weeks, Charter Oak and Naugatuck Valley Community College staff will be reaching out to former students who have transferred 15 credits or more to Charter Oak, and earned at least 60 credits total, to offer an associate degree from NVCC ex post facto.

A popular concept in other states, reverse transfer allows students who have completed 60 credits or more of college-level work, but who have not been awarded an associate’s degree, to have the aggregation of their credit recognized by their original institution of higher education and be granted a credential. NVCC and Charter Oak are the first two Connecticut colleges to come to such an agreement.

The terms of the transfer were solidified after consulting with University of Texas El Paso and El Paso Community College, who have worked together to reverse transfer more than 1,000 associate degrees in the last five years.

“We’re excited to be working with Naugatuck Valley Community College on this program,” said Ed Klonoski, President of Charter Oak State College. “Degree completion for Connecticut residents is a shared goal. As Connecticut’s online public college, we are committed to contributing to the growth of a competitive workforce and flexible enough to support adults in a variety of ways to assist them in achieving their goals.”

Community colleges frequently come under the gun for poor graduation rates, which is at least partially attributable to the early matriculation of students into four-year programs. According to NVCC’s Interim Dean of Academic Affairs Estela Lopez, Ph.D., the program is an exciting move towards broadening the degree path for students.

“Reverse transfer recognizes the work done by our College in preparing students to transfer and meet their educational goals,” Lopez said. “More importantly, it offers an educational milestone to students who are working toward larger degree aspirations, which is a win-win for everybody.”

In looking at the past three years, Charter Oak officials have initially identified approximately 80 students who meet the criteria for a reverse transfer agreement, showing not only that these students have continued on but are successful.

“This is a good example of how a system works together to raise the credentials of the population it’s serving. And these students have earned it.”

Charter Oak and NVCC are both members of Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (ConnSCU), governed by the Connecticut Board of Regents for Higher Education.