UTA, TCC create a better transfer system

Tarrant County College District and the University of Texas at Arlington have teamed up to build a better pipeline for transfer students.

The Early Transfer Identification Program (E-TIP) will not be a redressing of the already symbiotic relationship between the two higher education entities, but a smarter way to keep students on degree-bound track in the most efficient way possible.

Starting this fall, first-time college students who enroll in a Tarrant County College associate degree program can be pre-admitted to UTA and receive a guaranteed tuition rate plan.

The guaranteed tuition rate plan will lock in UTA’s tuition rate for four years, starting when they enroll into TCC, and the pre-admission process would make it seamless for students to finish one semester at TCC and start the next in UTA. They wouldn’t even have to apply for admission.

For the first year of this new agreement, second-year TCC associate-degree-bound students will be eligible.

One of the main goals is for students to get a four-year degree in four years. Not only does this benefit the schools involved, but it helps boost the local job market with skilled workers.

The two schools have created an efficient way to get a freshman at TCC to become a graduating UTA senior. They want to make the transfer as simple as possible while providing four-year-degree-plan advising from the start.

UTA admission counselors will be available on TCC campuses to help freshmen understand the best classes for their UTA bachelor’s degree. It would help minimize the number of classes the student might take that don’t count toward a degree.

“This new partnership will have an immediate positive impact by introducing students early to UTA, providing them a clear academic path toward degree completion and give them the advising resources they need to succeed,” said Angela Robinson, acting TCC chancellor, in a news statement.

E-TIP works in tandem with the State’s 60x30TX plan, an initiative to have 60 percent of Texans between the ages of 25-34 have a post-secondary credential or degree by 2030. Currently, less than 40 percent in that age bracket hold a degree.

This new partnership between the two institutions will bring Texas closer to its goal.

This story was originally published May 6, 2016 at 6:03 PM with the headline "UTA, TCC create a better transfer system."