MOORPARK — Moorpark College has officially joined the Transfer Scholars Network (TSN), an initiative dedicated to expanding community college student transfer to the nation’s highly selective colleges and universities.
Led by the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program with support from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, TSN facilitates direct connections between high-achieving community college students and senior admissions representatives at colleges and universities in the American Talent Initiative, such as Princeton University, Yale University, John Hopkins University and MIT. In the pilot of the TSN program, 20% of participating students who applied to the four-year partner universities received offers of admission, outpacing the average admission rate of 15%.
“Moorpark College is committed to maintaining our high transfer success rates and increasing transfer opportunities for our students,” said Julius Sokenu, President of Moorpark College. “Over the past five years, the college has increased its transfer rates by 22%, a trend we hope to continue by providing strategic support systems, like The Transfer Scholars Network, to our students.”
Historically, community college students have faced significant challenges when aiming to transfer to any of these elite universities, many of which did not accept transfer students in the past.
“The community colleges have very distinct articulation agreements with California State Universities that ensure a student’s credits will be accepted for transfer, but with out of state and private universities, students are often apprehensive about whether their community college courses will count toward their degree” said Kellie Porto-Garcia, an Academic Counselor at Moorpark College who assists students in the University Transfer Center. “This program should alleviate some of these challenges and improve students’ chances to transfer to their dream university.”
One of the missions of The Aspen Institute for Community College Excellence, the organization behind The Transfer Scholars Network, is to close equity gaps in achievement among community college students.
“There is incredible talent within community colleges, including high-achieving students who should, based on their merits, have access and opportunity to take advantage of all that the leading colleges have to offer,” says Tania LaViolet, director at the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program. “We cannot have true equity in higher education if there is not a path for students across the nation to transfer from community colleges to highly selective institutions.”
Moorpark College Honors Students will be participating in the program this year, with the hope of further expansion of the program in the years to come. For more information about The Moorpark College Honors Program, and updates about the Transfer Scholars Network at Moorpark College, visit bit.ly/MC-Honors-Program
About Moorpark College
Grounded in equity, social justice, and a student’s first?philosophy, Moorpark College values diverse communities. We empower learners from local, national, and global backgrounds to complete their degree, certificate, transfer, and career education goals. Through innovation and customized student support, our programs are designed to achieve equitable outcomes.
Moorpark College is one of three colleges in the Ventura County Community College District and annually serves more than 14,000 students. Founded in 1967, Moorpark College is fully accredited and has the highest six-year completion rate within the California Community College System. An Aspen Institute Top 10 Finalist for 2023, Moorpark College has also been named a 2020 Champion of Higher Education by The Campaign for College Opportunity for the Associate Degree for Transfer Pathway. It is also a designated Hispanic-Serving Institution. The college’s signature career/technical programs include nursing, radiologic technology, biotechnology and journalism. The college’s America’s Teaching Zoo is the only associate degree exotic animal training program in the country. To learn more, visit MoorparkCollege.edu or follow @MoorparkCollege on social media.
About The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program
The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program supports colleges and universities in their quest to achieve a higher standard of excellence, delivering credentials that unlock life-changing careers and strengthen our economy, society, and democracy. We know it takes visionary college leaders to achieve this higher standard and we make it our mission to equip them with the knowledge, skills, and research-backed tools to inspire change, shift practice, and advance the capacity of colleges to deliver excellent and equitable student outcomes. For more information, visit our website and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.