CSUN President Dianne F. Harrison

California State University, Northridge President Dianne F. Harrison has been appointed by the American Council on Education to a national task force focused on improving how academic credit is transferred between educational institutions to spur student success and reduce the time it takes to graduate.

Harrison will join California State University Chancellor Timothy P. White, the task force’s co-chair, and nearly 30 other higher education presidents and chancellors from around the country in examining the best practices and emerging strategies involving the transfer of the academic credits needed to ensure students have what they need to complete their degrees.

“Throughout higher education, including here at CSUN, institutions have focused on ensuring that students can successfully transfer academic credits from one educational institution to another,” said Harrison. “However, more work remains to be done. I am honored to be part of this nationwide task force that is looking for ways to build on recent efforts across the higher education landscape and create new avenues to improve the mobility of students between institutions and to better support students and their success.”

U.S. News and World Report ranked CSUN sixth in the nation for receiving the highest number of transfer students at 5,634 in fall 2018.

The successful transfer of credit is critical to students, especially given the number of students who transfer from one institution to another during their academic careers. A 2018 snapshot from the National Student Clearinghouse data found that 38 percent of the 2.8 million students in 2011 — or more than one million students — entering college for the first time in fall 2011 transferred to a different institution at least once within six years. As these students transferred, many of them lost academic credit.

The National Task Force on Transfer of Credit will produce a report containing best practices and emerging strategies for improving the transfer and award of credit — with the goal of advancing student success, promoting equality and making college more affordable.

The task force is comprised of presidents and chancellors of two- and four-year, public and private nonprofit colleges and universities from across the country. It is supported by a grant from Strada Education Network.

American Council on Education, California State University Chancellor Timothy P. White, National Task Force on Transfer of Credit, President Dianne F. Harrison