Destination Raiderland Helps Grow Transfer Numbers

By Stacy Gumula, Academic Admin Coordinator

Living the military lifestyle can make college uncertain, as you don't know where you'll be living when it's time to make a decision. For Quendaline Davis, that's one of the reasons she started out at Austin Community College District (ACC). When she finished high school, her father had not yet retired, but she knew a Texas university would eventually be her home. With one trip to Texas Tech University, she instantly fell in love and never looked back!

Having completed close to 50 hours at ACC, she was unclear about the transfer process. Transfer advisors were essential to her journey and answered every one of her questions. Quen's desire never wavered when it came to her major, Kinesiology. She has continued pushing toward her goal and has finished just over 70 hours at TTU. Texas Tech has given Quen so many opportunities, and she even became an active member of Texas Tech Sigma Phi Lambda, a Christian sorority on campus. She's set to graduate soon, and her dreams range from attending nursing school to owning her own gym or training facility. The possibilities are endless when you are as motivated as Quen! We can't wait to see what she does in her future.

Stories like Quen's are the reason we exist: to ease the transfer process into Texas Tech University from community colleges (such as Austin Community College) by having Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) in place. The Office of Academic Partnerships works to foster relationships with many institutions across the state of Texas and beyond. MOUs are only the beginning as both institutions work together to promote one another to their students. Thanks to the MOU with Austin Community College, Quendaline was able to not only hear about Texas Tech University, but also work with transfer advisors from both ACC and TTU to fully understand what was required of her to transfer successfully.

Once a MOU is in place, Articulation Agreements can be developed to further strengthen the partnership between institutions. Articulation Agreements serve as program-to-program alliances illustrating exact coursework to be completed at the community college. The completed coursework will then seamlessly apply as the student's first two years of their four-year Texas Tech Baccalaureate Degree. Austin Community College has articulations developed with the TechTeach Articulation Agreement and the Architecture Articulation Agreement. Not only do these agreements help all students, but they also help to grow transfer numbers across the board. Transfer numbers can be important to help the growth of colleges across the Texas Tech campus, and agreements fostered through the Office of Academic Partnerships serve as a direct link to that growth.

Contact us at academic.partnerships@ttu.edu if you are interested in developing an Articulation Agreement for your college degree programs or a Memorandum of Understanding with a community college.

Quendaline (Quen) Davis is proud to have planted her roots at Texas Tech University.