New Political Science Pathways Agreements Eliminate Hurdles for Transfer Students
A new agreement with two local community colleges is paving the way for prospective Political Science students at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The SIUE Department of Political Science has finalized Pathways agreements with Southwestern Illinois College (SWIC) and Lewis and Clark Community College (L&C) this fall, making it easier for students to transfer into SIUE Political Science degree programs after earning their associate’s degree.
“About half of the students in our department don’t start out at SIUE,” said Ken Moffett, professor and chair of the SIUE Department of Political Science. “As an institution, one of the things we want to do at SIUE is to make education broadly accessible. These agreements will remove some of the unnecessary obstacles in terms of earning a degree.”
The Pathways agreements will designate specific courses at SWIC and L&C that will count for degree requirements in the SIUE Political Science program. These courses are identified through a review of syllabi and by following course-by-course transfer agreements already in place between SIUE and the partner institutions. By identifying these courses in advance, it will save students time and money when they enroll in SIUE.
“One of the obstacles that students frequently run into is that their course is not transferable,” explained Moffett. “Part of the purpose of these agreements is to remove some of the administrative hurdles and make the transfer process easier for students.”
Knowing that half of the students in his program begin their higher education careers at institutions other than SIUE, Moffett began studying data from the past 30 years to determine the schools from which the majority of these students were transferring. The answer was overwhelmingly SWIC and L&C. Based on this data, Moffett reached out to those institutions to begin the process of establishing the Pathways agreements.
The Department of Political Science joins a growing number of departments across campus that are establishing Pathways agreements with outside institutions, including more than 10 departments in the College of Arts and Sciences. Currently, about 200 SIUE students are participating in the program.
Roxie Renner, coordinator of academic services and partnership advising at the SIUE Transfer Center, supports students who are transferring to SIUE from SWIC through the Pathways agreements. She cites several reasons why Pathways agreements are advantageous for students, including being able to automatically enroll in SIUE after earning an associate’s degree and avoid the traditional application process and fee. Additionally, students meet with Renner each semester during their time at SWIC to ensure they are on track academically.
“Students meet with me each semester so I can check their progress towards the required associate degree, register for the next semester at SWIC and update their matriculation as needed,” said Renner. “The key to helping each student, whether a Pathways or traditional transfer student, lies in getting advised each semester and choosing the path that is best for that student.”
During a student’s final semester at SWIC, they will meet with Renner for a “checkout” appointment, where the student makes an appointment with his/her SIUE advisor to ensure a seamless transition to SIUE.
As the Political Science Pathways agreements gain traction among SWIC and L&C students, Moffett is looking forward to collecting new enrollment data to evaluate the success of these agreements. Depending on what the data shows, Moffett will consider expanding the program to additional community colleges in the future as part of a broader recruiting strategy.
“We, as a department, want to help students succeed,” added Moffett. “I believe establishing these agreements and removing unnecessary barriers for students is one way we can do that.”
