Heartland and Eastern Illinois University have reverse transfer agreement

[May 30, 2015]  NORMAL - Heartland Community College and Eastern Illinois University (EIU) now have a reverse transfer agreement. President Rob Widmer of Heartland and Vice President and Provost Blair Lord of Eastern signed the agreement prior to the HCC board of trustees meeting Tuesday, May 19.

Reverse transfer is for students who elect to transfer from a community college to a baccalaureate degree-granting institution prior to completing their associate degree. Most likely, these students will complete the course work needed for their associate degree after transferring to the four-year institution. Reverse transfer agreements allow those transfer students to receive the degree they have earned.

Under Heartland and EIU’s agreement, EIU’s registrar will contact university students who have earned 30 or more hours from Heartland but have not been awarded a degree. EIU will offer to transmit each student’s transcripts to Heartland at the end of each semester, at no cost to the student. Heartland will then conduct a degree audit. If the student has met the requirements for the associate degree, HCC’s staff will award the degree, also at no cost to the student.

Heartland’s Vice President of Learning and Student Success, Rick Pearce, said the agreement is a huge benefit to students. “The associate degree is often viewed as the first two years of earning of bachelor’s degree,” said Pearce. “But life happens and sometimes they may not complete their bachelor’s degree when they planned. This gives students the security in knowing they have something to show when they go out into the workforce.” Pearce also noted that once a student completes one degree, they are more than likely to complete the second.

This is Heartland’s first reverse transfer agreement. Eastern has an additional agreement with Lake Land Community College. Once a “track record” is established, Heartland will seek agreements with other universities.

[Becky Gropp, Heartland Community College]