NEW LAW SIGNED AUG. 11, SIMILAR TO OTHER STATES

When Jeremy Hunter transferred to SIUC from Southwestern Illinois College only 21 of his 32 class hours transferred.

“You would think they would honor the courses you have taken,” said Hunter, a junior from Fairview Heights studying exercise science.

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Hunter and more than 46,000 other students in Illinois who transferred schools in fall 2004 will find it easier to transfer classes because of legislation signed in mid-August.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed House Bill 2515 into law Aug. 11 to establish the Course Applicability System, a system similar to those in 10 other states. The online system is designed to help students avoid taking courses that will not transfer or count toward a degree at a four-year university.

Lucy Sloan, a member of the Illinois Board of Higher Education, said the system should prove beneficial to the University as well as students.

“It would save students from maybe taking courses twice,” Sloan said. “I can see it as saving time and money.”

Only two Illinois universities have fully implemented the Course Applicability System – Northern Illinois University and the University of Illinois in Chicago. SIUC is in the process of completely applying the system.

In the future, Sloan said she sees the network as becoming a standard system for universities.

“This is just going to be a wonderful program for students,” Sloan said.

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Students who are considering a transfer are able to submit their coursework to any institution within the network for evaluation against another university’s academic programs.

Students can register on the Web site and create personalized planning guides to develop a strategy to best take advantage of the coursework they have already taken, as well as conduct experiments to see how potential coursework would apply toward different degrees and at different universities.

*Visit www.transfer.org to read more about the Course Applicability System.

Reporter Laura Teegarden can be reached at [email protected]