- Year Published : 2020
- Month Published : August
BOULDER, Colo. – Nevada State College (NSC) has joined the Interstate Passport Network, the national program of two- and four-year colleges and universities that streamlines the transfer process for students. NSC becomes the 57th member of the Network, signing up with two other Nevada institutions: University of Nevada, Reno and Truckee Meadows Community College. Located in Henderson, Nevada State College (NSC) is a four-year comprehensive public institution. NSC is part of the Nevada System of Higher Education, a system that serves a critical need between the two-year colleges and the research institutions with a commitment to personalized education. Over 5,500 students were enrolled in the fall 2019 semester.
“Transferring between institutions can be a complex and time-consuming process, particularly when each class must be evaluated individually” said Vickie Shields, Provost and Executive Vice President at NSC. “We’re impressed by the simplicity and standardization that Interstate Passport offers – it will be a tremendous benefit for our diverse population of students.”
NSC offers bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees from the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, School of Nursing, and the School of Education, which also offers a master’s degree in speech-language pathology. The college also offers for-credit internship courses for a number of majors and free one-on-one and group tutoring.
The Interstate Passport program was founded in 2011, and became fully operational in 2016. Students who earn a Passport, which encompasses lower-division general education and is based on learning outcomes instead of course-by-course articulation, can transfer to a Network institution in another state and have their learning recognized and general education credits accepted. Since Interstate Passport launched in 2016, member institutions have awarded over 38,800 Passports. All students from NSC who earn a Passport can now more easily transfer to any Network member institution without having to repeat or take additional coursework to satisfy general education requirements.
Nearly four in 10 college students will transfer institutions at least once during their college careers, and almost a quarter of those will enroll in an institution in another state, according to data from the National Student Clearinghouse. Until now, transferring between schools – especially across state lines – has been made more difficult and expensive by lengthy credit evaluation processes and loss of credit already earned.
“We are delighted to welcome Nevada State College to the Interstate Passport Network,” said Anna Galas, director of academic leadership initiatives at WICHE. “As the Interstate Passport Network continues to grow, we expect to see more transfer students motivated to complete their degrees. Students who earn a Passport will be able to easily transfer to other institutions within the Network without losing credits or having to repeat lower-division general education coursework, a seamless transition that will keep students on their pathway to a degree.”
Even for students who don’t transfer, earning a Passport can be beneficial. Because of its specifically defined learning outcomes, the Passport can become a widely recognizable documented completion benchmark from which employers can gauge a prospect’s skill level and readiness for a job.
INTERSTATE PASSPORT
Interstate Passport is a program based at the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) that enables block transfer of complete lower-division general education attainment based on a set of multistate faculty-developed learning outcomes instead of on specific courses and number of credits. After years of research and development, the Interstate Passport Network, whose members are two-year and four-year non-profit colleges and universities, was launched in July 2016. In its first three years of operation, members awarded 38,800 Passports to students. Current membership has grown to 60 institutions in 17 states. For more information please visit interstatepassport.wiche.edu.
