STEUBENVILLE - Students at Eastern Gateway Community College who are thinking about transferring to a four-year program are finding out just how easy the process can be.
Thanks to u.select, a user-friendly online degree assessment tool, students and staff can view program requirements and course equivalencies at participating colleges and universities throughout Ohio, create an education plan and even gauge how the courses they've taken or plan to take will fare if they transfer, according to college officials.
And it's free.
"It's making it so much easier," said Johnna Provenzano, transfer coordinator at Eastern Gateway. "U.select can help a student find schools offering the program of study they're interested in, figure out what classes they need to take to obtain their degree or see if courses they've already taken at one school can be applied toward a degree program at another. There's always going to be a disclaimer that the reports aren't official, that they still need to go through an official evaluation, but it's a guide to help us along the way, and each school is being diligent about updating its information because we all know students are using the system a lot."
Eastern Gateway is one of dozens of schools in the Buckeye State that are part of u.select's nationwide network. It's the result of an Ohio Board of Regents directive that all public colleges and universities in the Buckeye State adopt the u.select program, which allows students as well as school administrators to search courses and equivalencies at each member school.
With just a few clicks on the computer keyboard, students will know at a glance what the degree requirements are, what courses will transfer from one school to the other and what work must still be done, according to Provenzano.
She said u.select eliminates much of the guesswork in planning for a transfer.
"Once a student's data is inputted, either manually or electronically from the student's file, u.select will tell them what courses have been completed, what courses are needed to satisfy their degree requirements. The program can even help students choose a school based on the programs offered," Provenzano explained.
"The program can show a listing of all Eastern Gateway courses compared to other member institutions, or the user can choose a specific area of interest and u.select will list applicable courses," she said.
"There's also a planning function that allows users to request a listing of courses they can take at Eastern Gateway that will be accepted at the four-year school of their choice," Provenzano noted.
"It makes it easier for both of us. I don't have to go through transcripts and look through equivalency guides by hand. Students are using it, they realize how much easier it makes the transfer process. I think it's huge," stated Provenzano.
The u.select database can be accessed at www.transfer.org.
