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CHANCELLOR, EDITORIAL, CARTOON WERE 'HURTFUL' TO COMMUNITY COLLEGE TRANSFERS AT UNIVERSITY

by Blanche M. Touhill

This is in response to your editorial of March 23 and the accompanying cartoon in the same issues concerning a new CBHE proposal with respect to community college articulation.

Your editorial implies that the new agreement would allow community college students to transfer junior level courses to UM-St. Louis. This is not the case. The community colleges are not authorized to offer upper division course work and therefore such courses would not be available for transfer. What the new agreement does authorize is that we may transfer more than the current limit of 64 student credit hours on a case by case basis when these lower division courses remain as a requirement for students who have already reached junior status. Obviously, this, as any change, needs to be monitored for its long-run impact, but there is not transferring of junior level courses.

We have prided ourselves on our efforts to relate to the community colleges in our area. Last fall, 791 students transferred to UM-St. Louis from community colleges. This represents more transfers than all other UM campuses combined. Community college transfers have long been a course of mature students who become outstanding UM-St. Louis graduates. It is for this reason that I found the editorial cartoon hurtful to the large number of our UM-St. Louis community who come from community colleges and add to the intellectual talent on our campus.