While Sinclair Community College can fit the needs of many different students, it can be a starting point for students who plan to continue on with their education at a four-year institution.
For advice on transferring, the Clarion talked to Senior Academic Advisor Susan Spacht.
“Overall just about any school will accept Sinclair’s credits,” Spacht said.
According to Spacht, any public institution in the state of Ohio must accept general education credits, while private institutions don’t necessarily have to accept credits.
“Private institutions, while they don’t have to, are very good at accepting Sinclair credits because they want students also,” Spacht said.
In addition, she said students who plan to transfer to out-of-state institutions should not have a problem transferring either.
“Out of state students shouldn’t have much of an issue either, as long as they are taking the kind of courses four-year institutions want students to take,” she said.
Spacht also said it can be easier to transfer with an associate degree.
The only time Spacht has heard of an institution rejecting credits is when private institutions reject courses based on what is taught.
“I’ve occasionally heard of private institutions, particularly if they’re affiliated with a conservative religion, not liking certain courses such as general biology. [If] the course teaches evolution… sometimes they won’t accept those credits,” she said as an example.
Sinclair has articulation agreements with other institutions.
“What an articulation agreement does, is it shows a student that if you take those specific courses at Sinclair, this is how we will apply that at your transfer institution,” Spacht said
With Sinclair’s switch to semesters, some of the articulation agreements ended. Spacht said that articulation agreements are in the process of being developed and that some have been completed.
Spacht said Wright State University is popular with Sinclair students who plan to transfer.
“Wright State — that’s the most popular school because it’s local and has reasonably low tuition rates,” she said.
She advices students to get prepared early-on if they plan to transfer.
“Students who plan on transferring to a four-year institution should choose a major early on so they can take the right classes,” she said.
Deadlines should also be taken into consideration when applying to a school.
“Students need to start early and not wait until the last minute, because there are deadlines for a lot of these programs at four-year colleges. The students have to apply by a certain date and if they don’t, then a lot of times they have to wait a whole year before they can actually get into the program,” she said.