Pennsylvania Helping College Students While Saving State $35.4 Million

WEST CHESTER, Pa., Oct. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania Department of Education report, "The Pennsylvania College Credit Transfer System: Helping Pennsylvania College Students Stay on Track to a College Degree," shows thousands of Pennsylvania college students benefiting from PA's transfer web portal, www.patrac.org. Released earlier this year, the report revealed that in 2009 alone students saved nearly $35.4 million. In the report, Dr. John Cavanaugh, Chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education(PASSHE) said, "Since 2006, we have seen nearly a 20% increase in the number of transfers with a 36% increase in those transferring with more than 60 credits. One in four of our new admissions are now transfer students – now that's success!"

Student feedback on the web portal was included in the report. One Lehigh Carbon Community College student, Lauren Smith, commented, "As a community college student and a future transfer student, the PA TRAC website was a tremendous help…The information on the site seems to recognize what a 'community college' student goes through."

Nationwide, six in ten college students attend more than one college or university before completing a bachelor's degree. AcademyOne, Inc., a leader in web portal technology for education implements innovative solutions addressing issues like college transfer and career and technical education with Pennsylvania and other states including: South Carolina, Washington, Arkansas and Delaware.

In 2006, Governor Edward G. Rendell signed into law Act 114 requiring all community colleges and PASSHE schools to identify a minimum of 30 credits guaranteed to transfer between schools. As part of the new law, the state established the Pennsylvania Transfer and Articulation Center (PA TRAC) web portal at www.patrac.org. Rep. Josh Shapiro, of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and author of transfer legislation was quoted in the report, "Prior to Act 114, college credits were not guaranteed to be 100% transferable. That meant students wishing to transfer from one college to another could be forced to pay money to retake classes. I call that a 'tuition tax,' and it's unfair. I am proud that today we are making it easier for students to complete college on time and for less money."

Pennsylvania's interactive portal lets users create accounts, search for transfer courses, learn about participating colleges and receive guidance on how to make a successful transfer. Thirty-two institutions guarantee transfer credit through the PA TRAC portal.

To view the PA report, visit www.academyone.com .

About AcademyOne

AcademyOne is an innovative technology and services company providing solutions that address learner mobility, academic progress and transitions and credit portability. The company focuses on serving learners, institutions, agencies and governments addressing the challenges of an increasingly mobile population of learners. AcademyOne's team of professionals has a diverse array of academic, operational and technology experience. The company has engineered a suite of college transfer and prior learning recognition applications and built a comprehensive database storing over 3.5 million courses from across 4,000 degree-granting institutions.

SOURCE AcademyOne