City Colleges Of Chicago And Chicago State University Support Transfer Students with Admission Agreement

City Colleges of Chicago and Chicago State University have entered an agreement to allow students from the City Colleges to have guaranteed admission to Chicago State. Photo provided by City Colleges of Chicago.
City Colleges of Chicago and Chicago State University have entered an agreement to allow students from the City Colleges to have guaranteed admission to Chicago State. Photo provided by City Colleges of Chicago.

City Colleges Of Chicago And Chicago State University Support Transfer Students with Admission Agreement

By Tia Carol Jones

A new partnership between the City Colleges of Chicago and Chicago State University aims to remove the barriers students may experience when it comes to transferring from a two-year college to a four-year college. The partnership is offering students from City Colleges guaranteed admission to Chicago State University once they complete their Associate’s Degree.

Students from City Colleges of Chicago are qualified for guaranteed admission once they complete an Associate of Arts Degree or an Associate of Science Degree and must complete the Illinois General Education Core Curriculum requirements. Once the students complete the requirements, they will receive a junior standing at Chicago State University. They must maintain a 2.5 grade point average to enter and remain eligible. The agreement will begin with students in the of Fall 2024.

“This transfer agreement will fulfill the needs of our students who want to plan now to attend CSU and fulfill their career goals,” Chancellor Juan Salgado, City Colleges of Chicago, said in a release. “This agreement ensures our students’ credits will be accepted, which will save our students both money and time, and for this and so much more, we are grateful to CSU for being our partner.”

“At Chicago State, we are pleased to deepen our partnership with the City Colleges of Chicago. Our transfer pathway agreement is an intentional effort to remove barriers and improve access to a Bachelor’s Degree,” Zaldwaynaka “Z” Scott, JD, President of CSU, said in a release. “To support equity in education, it is critical for higher education institutions in a post-affirmative action world to increase support and encourage students to achieve the educational goals they set for themselves, and we feel this program does just that.”

There has always been a partnership between the City Colleges of Chicago and Chicago State University. This partnership happened because the schools were looking at how Chicago State University could best serve transfer students. There was a desire to streamline the transfer process.

“That’s where it really came to an idea of let’s get something that’s more streamlined, versus a variety of individual agreements and individual schools working in isolation,” said Chicago State University Provost Dr. Leslie Roundtree.

This formal, deeper relationship between the two educational institutions will serve the transfer students better. The City Colleges of Chicago Provost and Chief Mark Potter said that master agreements like the one with Chicago State University do serve the City Colleges of Chicago students better.

It is better for the students because they will know before they leave the City Colleges of Chicago what their next steps are on their academic journey. They will also have access to joint academic advising, which will enable the students to get advise from both institutions. The goal is to make the transition seamless. Data will be shared across institutions so that they can drill down to what can make it a smooth process.

“It’s the smoothness that we’re trying to do that’s so different. We’re looking to be so smooth that the students feel like they’re in one big family,” Roundtree said.

Potter added the sense of belonging is what both institutions are trying to drive with the partnership. Through the joint supports that are being offered to the students, the aim is to increase a sense of belonging to both institutions.

As part of the Chicago Star Scholars program, Chicago State University will offer the City Colleges of Chicago students that have a 3.0 or higher grade point average a $1,000 scholarship for up to two years. There will be other opportunities for students to receive scholarships in addition to the Chicago Star scholarship.

“We want to make sure that they’re earning their Bachelor’s Degree, not just their Associate’s Degree. It’s not enough for us that they complete at City Colleges and transfer, we want to make sure they’re earning their Bachelor’s Degree and the financial supports are a important component of that,” Potter said.

For more information about Chicago State University, visit www.csu.edu. For more information about City Colleges of Chicago, visit www.ccc.edu.

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