UTSA President Ricardo Romo and ACCD Executive Vice Chancellor Ernest A. Martinez signed
a joint agreement in the Frio Street Building on the Downtown Campus. Several of the ACCD
presidents witnessed the event.
Alamo Community Colleges, UTSA Sign Joint Admission Agreement
(July 26, 2001) Officials from the Alamo Community College District and the
University of Texas at San Antonio today announced the implementation of a
joint admission agreement to make it easier for the city's community college
students to pursue a four-year degree.
In ceremonies held at the UTSA Downtown Campus, ACCD Executive Vice Chancellor
Ernest A. Martinez and UTSA President Ricardo Romo signed a memorandum of
understanding to formally strengthen and simplify the transition process for
ACCD students who wish to continue their education by completing a bachelor's
degree at UTSA.
"The signing of this agreement is another step forward toward our goal
of providing a seamless educational experience for our students as they continue
their education at a four-year institution," said Martinez, speaking
on behalf of Chancellor Robert W. Ramsay.
Romo agreed, calling the joint admission accord a reaffirmation of UTSA's
partnership with the ACCD's four component institutions from which the university
draws more than a third of its undergraduate students. "UTSA and the
Alamo Community College District already collaborate closely to ensure that
students transferring to the university have a positive and productive experience,"
said Romo.
For example, UTSA maintains so-called 2+2 year programs designed to ensure
that students take the appropriate courses at the community college-level
to prepare them for upper-division work in their majors at UTSA. A member
of the UTSA admissions team is assigned full time to the Palo Alto College
Campus, and Romo said there are plans to place UTSA admissions officers on
the other three ACCD campuses, as well.
"We feel confident that our collaboration is working. Forty-six percent
of the 2,551 undergraduate degrees awarded by UTSA last year went to students
who had transferred from an ACCD campus. The retention rate at UTSA for students
transferring from ACCD institutions is nearly 75 percent, almost 8 percent
higher than that for non-ACCD students, and it is 16 percent higher than that
of first-time freshmen." Romo said. And not only are transfer students
from the Alamo Community College District staying in school and completing
their programs at UTSA, they are doing so with honors, according to Romo.
Of the 26 UTSA undergraduates who graduated with highest honors (summa cum
laude) last year, 25 of them were former ACCD students. Over the past five
years, three out of every four summa cum laude graduates were transfer students
from the ACCD. "The memorandum of understanding formalizes and strengthens
the relationship between institutions, making sure that the success story
will continue," Romo added.
Under the agreement, qualified students would be guaranteed of transferring
up to 66 semester credit hours toward a baccalaureate degree program at UTSA.
Students must transfer a minimum of 30 or more hours and maintain a minimum
2.0 cumulative grade point average for all previous coursework completed.
An expanded academic advising effort would help participants maximize their
chances of qualifying for a state college-tuition rebate program for transfer
students who execute their pre-transfer curriculums according to precise requirements
so that every course taken prior to transfer counts. Rebates are available
to students who complete transfer degree programs on schedule because state
resources can then be diverted to attracting additional students into higher
education. The joint admission agreement becomes effective in spring of 2002.