Department/Discipline:  Psychology

Facilitator Name:  Lisa Dusek

Transfer issue/problem one:

Students who transfer between institutions (technical, 2 year, and 4 year)  find that the receiving institutions won’t accept some of their classes as direct  equivalents to classes listed in their specific psychology major programs.

Strategy One:

Develop a consciousness of the transferability and non-transferability of major curriculum  in receiving institutions (primarily 4 year institutions).

Action Item

Timeline*

Who is Responsible

1.  Establish a list of contacts for each college/university to facilitate communication.

ASAP

Facilitator

2. Sending institutions are to gain an awareness of what will transfer directly as major required classes versus major electives versus general electives.  (Individual transfer specialists should inform the facilitator of problems as they seek solutions.)

March 2003

Transfer Specialists at sending and receiving institutions/Facilitator

3.  Periodic meeting of counselors, advisors, departmental faculty, and transfer specialists within each college/university to determine the status of transfer and identify any problems in the discipline of psychology.

Ongoing/ first meeting to occur by Spring 2003

Counselors, advisors, transfer specialists, and departmental faculty

4. If budget allows, schedule periodic meetings of in-field faculty from all institutions to determine progress and exchange information and discuss problems surfacing in transfer.  (This may also foster faculty ownership of transfer plans.)

Annually

In field faculty representatives / MnSCU Office of Program Collaboration and Transfer

5. Communicate information to students on an ongoing basis while being specific as to which courses may not fit into specific majors at the time of transfer to individual institutions.

Ongoing

Sending institutions for local publicizing (departmental advisors and transfer specialists)

6.  Utilize existing public information systems (ie: mntransfer.org, DARS, CAS) to disseminate a psychology transfer equivalency guide.

Ongoing

Transfer specialists in consultation with counselors, advisors, and departmental faculty

7.  Improve online resources to have total MnSCU institution inclusion.

Ongoing

MnSCU Office of Program Collaboration and Transfer (continuing efforts to make this website comprehensive)

Strategy Two:

Recognize, respect, and preserve the organic nature of existing articulation agreements by communicating the explicit structures that already exist while also encouraging additional agreement development.

Action Item

Timeline*

Who is Responsible

1.  Review articulation agreements currently in place.

Action Items 1,2,3 to be accomplished

Sending institution Advisors / Transfer Specialists

2.  Regional meetings of in-field faculties to encourage and realize further individual and regional articulation agreements as necessary.  (Encourage the inclusion of all faculty, this includes full time as well as adjunct faculty.)

during spring semester 2003

Scheduled by MnSCU Office of Program Collaboration and Transfer or by affected institutions

3.  Utilize articulation template provided to develop and maintain a more statewide and all inclusive articulation agreement network.

__________

Sending and receiving institutions

Strategy Three:

Develop a central contact for collecting and reporting transfer problems.

Action Item

Timeline*

Who is Responsible

1.        Identify a contact person at MnSCU who is assigned the responsibility to serve as a “transfer liaison” handling individual issues and appeals as well as providing motivation for future compromise and change.

Spring Semester
2003

MnSCU Office of Program Collaboration and Transfer

Department/Discipline:  Psychology

Facilitator Name:  Lisa Dusek

Transfer issue/problem two:

How can we, as a discipline, arrive at a common understanding of upper division, lower division, and major courses?

Strategy One:

Address problems arising from differences in course structure at individual institutions.

Action Item

Timeline*

Who is Responsible

1.   Address definitions of “upper division” and “lower division” classes.  For example:  Similarly named courses with different levels of numbering.  (Are there possibilities of arriving at a consensus among institutions?)

Nov 22 - Spring Semester: (results/reactions to be discussed at Spring discipline meeting)

Departmental faculty and discipline representatives

2.  Recognize that schools which accept courses in transfer do so on the basis of course content

Nov 22 - Spring Semester: (results/reactions to be discussed at Spring discipline meeting)

Departmental faculty and discipline representatives

3. Recognize and address differences arising from the organic structure of individual psychology departments (such as an Introductory course offered in 2 semesters rather than one) and find solutions to facilitate transfer in articulation agreements.

Nov 22, 2002 -May 2003

Departmental faculty representatives / Individual sending and receiving institutions

4. Clarify and address issues arising when a large number of courses within an “area of emphasis” are transferred to a “major” program at a receiving institution.  (This has been characterized as a blending/bleeding of institutional missions.)

Nov 22 - Spring Semester: (results/reactions to be discussed at Spring discipline meeting)

Departmental faculty and discipline representatives