Academic and Transfer Planning

Academic success advisors assist students with developing strategies to become more successful in school, meet academic proficiencies and achieve and maintain good academic standing. Academic success advisors help interpret transfer guides, program outlines and transfer requirements for four-year schools. They also assist students with choosing a transfer university and provide academic and transfer planning services within the context of helping students meet career and life goals. (Related course: CLC 120)

Associate Degree Transfer Programs

CLC’s associate degree transfer programs allow students to transfer to schools throughout Illinois and across the United States.

In general, reports from state universities indicate that CLC transfer students generally perform as well as, or better than, students who begin their studies at four-year schools. Moreover, a five-year longitudinal study of students transferring from two-year colleges to four-year colleges and universities in Illinois revealed that students who transferred with an Associate in Arts or Associate in Science degree earn higher grade point averages and have higher completion rates than students who transfer without a degree. Almost 70 percent of the A.A./A.S. degree students had graduated or were still enrolled at the end of the study with an average GPA of 2.81.

The College of Lake County successfully prepares students for higher level college courses. Students enjoy their programs at CLC and successfully transfer credits to four-year schools. This is especially true for students who earn an associate transfer degree. CLC offers an Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, Associate in Engineering Science and Associate in Fine Arts degrees to individuals interested in pursuing a bachelor's degree at a senior college or university. The degree a student chooses to pursue at CLC should be based on the student’s proposed major at the intended transfer institution. To ensure full transferability of coursework, students should work with an academic success advisor who will assist with verifying degree requirements for the specific senior college or university of the student’s choice.

Transfer Resources and Transferability of CLC Courses

 The Illinois Articulation Initiative — IAI This initiative is limited to students who are first-time college students since 1998.

 The College of Lake County is a participant in the Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI), a statewide transfer agreement which is transferable among more than 100 participating colleges or universities in Illinois. The IAI establishes a “package” of lower-division general education coursework accepted at all participating schools. This package is known as the Illinois Articulation Initiative General Education Core Curriculum (IAI GECC).

•   Completion of the IAI GECC assures transferring students that lower-division general education requirements for a bachelor's degree have been satisfied at any participating institution. Note: Students may have to meet institution-wide, mission-related, or particular major general education requirements after transfer.

•   Students who do not complete the IAI GECC before transfer and have less than 30 transferable semester credits need to complete the general education requirements of the transfer institution; completed CLC courses will be evaluated on a course by course basis.

•   Students who do not complete the IAI GECC and have at least 30 transferable semester credits and who transfer to an IAI participating institution have the option of completing either the IAI GECC at the transfer institution or the institution’s lower- division general education requirements, which may differ from the IAI GECC.

•   A list of IAI participating colleges and universities can be found on the iTransfer website: www.iTransfer.org.

The IAI GECC consists of 12 to 13 courses (37–41 semester credits) chosen from the following five categories: Communications, Social/Behavioral Sciences, Physical/Life Sciences, Mathematics, and Humanities /Fine Arts. Specifically, the GECC requires:

•   Communications: 3 courses (9 credit hours); must include a two-course sequence in writing completed with grades of C or better and one course in oral communication.

•   Social and Behavioral Science: 3 courses (9 credit hours); a maximum of two courses from one discipline; at least one course must come from a second discipline.

•   Physical and Life Science: 2 courses (7 credit hours); one course must be selected from Physical Science and one course from Life Science; at least one course must be a laboratory science course.

•   Mathematics: 1 course (3 credit hours)

•   Humanities and Fine Arts: 3 courses (9 credit hours); one course must be from Humanities, one course must be from Fine Arts, and one course from either discipline.

 See a complete list of IAI courses offered below:

CLC's General Education Core Curriculum

 The Associate in Arts degree contains the IAI GECC.

•   Students who complete the IAI GECC and the CLC A.A. will be considered having achieved junior status upon transfer to a participating four-year college or university.

•   The IAI also includes major recommendations for the first two years of college. IAI major recommendations work best for students who have chosen their majors but are undecided on the college or university they plan to transfer to. Courses should be selected in consultation with a College and Career Navigator or Academic Success Advisor.

 At the end of each term, IAI GECC completion will be determined for students in that term. Once completion of the IAI GECC is verified, it will be noted on the transcript. Students should contact an Academic Success Advisor to review their records to ensure they are on track.

Note: The A.S. degree does not include the IAI GECC package: A.S. degree completers may complete the IAI GECC upon transfer to an IAI participating institution or may select appropriate elective coursework within the A.S. to complete the IAI GECC at CLC. Guidance from your Academic Success Advisor is strongly recommended.

Transfer Partnerships: Guaranteed Transfer Admission, Dual Admission and Articulation Agreements

Transfer partnerships help pave transfer pathways for students. The College of Lake County has several partnership agreements that can be a useful resource when creating transfer pathways with select colleges and universities. Each partnership and agreement is unique and should be reviewed for requirements specific to that partnership.

Guaranteed transfer admission agreements offer guarantee admission to select partner colleges and universities for CLC students who meet specific criteria outlined in each individual agreement. These agreements offer one of many ways to transfer.

Dual admission agreements offer special benefits to students, such as dual advising, the ability to take courses at both institutions simultaneously, and may include tuition discounts and scholarship opportunities.

Articulation agreements are formal agreements that allow students to apply credits earned in a specific program at CLC toward advanced standing, equal transfer, guaranteed admission and/or direct entry into a specific program at the four-year institution.

For more information about guaranteed transfer admission, dual admission and articulation agreements current students can contact their Academic Success Advisor. To view partner colleges and universities visit www.clcillinois.edu/transferinfo.

Transfer Guides

Transfer guides are created and maintained in partnership with transfer institutions to provide information about general and major-specific transfer courses. Transfer guides offer course recommendations and outline how CLC courses will transfer into specific transfer institutions. Many four-year institutions also maintain course equivalency tables that show how CLC courses articulate into their program. To view transfer guides by major and by college, and links to equivalency tables at various colleges and universities, please visit www.clcillinois.edu/transferinfo.

Transferology and MyCreditsTransfer

MyCreditsTransfer is a statewide initiative designed to facilitate transfer within Illinois using the nationally available web-based tool, Transferology. Within Transferology students can find out how courses transfer between institutions and how courses satisfy degree requirements at participating Transferology institutions across the nation. For more information about Transferology, contact an Academic Success Advisor or visit: www.itransfer.org/mycreditstransfer.

 Illinois Transfer Compact Agreement: Transfer of Completed Associate Degrees

The Illinois Board of Higher Education view the public community colleges of Illinois as partners with senior colleges and universities in the delivery of the first two years of education beyond high school in this state. A transfer student in good standing, who has completed an associate degree based on bachelor's- oriented sequences will be considered (a) to have attained junior standing and (b) to have met lower division general education requirements of senior institutions. Students may have to meet institution-wide, mission- related, or particular major general education requirements after transfer. The following Illinois public universities honor the agreement:

•   Chicago State University

•   Eastern Illinois University

•   Governors State University

•   Illinois State University

•   Northeastern Illinois University

•   Northern Illinois University

•   Southern Illinois University Carbondale

•   Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

•   University of Illinois at Chicago

•   University of Illinois at Springfield

•   University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

•   Western Illinois University