As of this month, twelve Minnesota Private Colleges are offering the Transfer Admission Guarantee. Community college students earning their associate of arts degrees in Minnesota, and meeting other eligibility requirements, can now know early on that they’ll be admitted. The participating institutions are:

• Augsburg University
• Bethany Lutheran College
• Bethel University
• College of Saint Benedict 
• The College of St. Scholastica
• Concordia College, Moorhead
• Concordia University, St. Paul
• Hamline University
• Saint John’s University
• Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
• St. Catherine University
• University of St. Thomas

“Community college students will benefit from knowing earlier that they can be admitted and earn their bachelor’s degrees at these 12 institutions,” said Paul Cerkvenik, president, Minnesota Private College Council. “This is about helping students understand their options and making it easier for them to earn a four-year degree  at private colleges in Minnesota.”

Admission is guaranteed for community college students who have completed an Associate of Arts (AA) degree and the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (MnTC), given students have met all eligibility criteria and there is capacity within the intended major at selected institutions. Students are eligible for the Guarantee if their cumulative grade point averages range from 2.0 to 3.0, depending on the participating institution. There are per-course GPAs and other requirements that vary among the 12 as well; visit www.mnprivatecolleges.org/transfer-guarantee for details.

For community college students, the Transfer Admission Guarantee means fewer worries, clearer options — and more time to plan for what’s next. The Guarantee means students can see upfront what kinds of grades they need to be earning to be eligible. And they can think earlier about what courses they should be taking for where they want to transfer and what they’re thinking for their future major.

At these 12 institutions, students also benefit from the AA transferring in as a block to meet general education requirements, provided a 2.0 is achieved in each course. This means that all 60 credits earned for the AA count towards their bachelor’s degrees.

Community college students should talk to the transfer specialists at these 12 institutions about what the Guarantee means for them. Advisors at community colleges are an important resource as well.

The idea of creating the Transfer Admission Guarantee grew out of discussions that representatives from Minnesota Private College Council member institutions started in 2021, regarding how to collaborate in new ways to better support transfer students. The group learned about similar admission guarantees that are offered in New England.

The Guarantee has been developed as part of the Transfer Initiative, which is coordinated by the Council with funding support from the Teagle Foundation and the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations. Each of these 12 institutions chose to participate in the Guarantee and set its own requirements.

The Transfer Initiative also includes the development of discipline-specific pathways, by faculty in six departments. The goal is to help community college students see clearly how they can plan for and earn an intended major when transferring.  As of this fall psychology pathways have been created that link these 12 private colleges with different community colleges; more than 90 psychology pathways have been created and are posted on the Council’s website. Work is now underway on biology pathways.

The Transfer Initiative is supported by grants from the Teagle Foundation and the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations