Montgomery College Home Page

The Transfer Times
November, 2004

In This Issue  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Announcing...

Montgomery College's New
Transfer Studies Certificate

Students come to Montgomery College every year with the intention of transferring to a four-year college or university. 
M.C. prides itself on the success of these students as they transfer smoothly across the state and across nation to the schools of their choice. 

 

The Transfer Studies Certificate is designed for students who intend to transfer to a four-year
 college or university.  Students should meet with a counselor or adviser to select
appropriate courses required by the transfer institution(s) of interest.  

Courses

Credits

Foundation - two courses:

 

English foundation (EN 102 or 109)

3

Mathematics foundation (MA 110 or higher)

3

 

 

Distribution - four courses:
Choose from attached Distribution Lists or the
MC 2004-2005 Catalog, p. 67 - 70

 

Arts distribution

3

Humanities distribution

3

Behavioral and social sciences distribution

3

Natural sciences lab distribution

4

 

 

Electives - 11 credits *

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total number of credits                                            

30

*Meet with a counselor or adviser to choose elective courses to fulfill additional general education requirements and/or academic major requirements of the transfer institution(s).  EN 101 may be used as elective credit for this certificate.

 
Why Choose the Transfer Studies Certificate?
  • Many students plan to transfer to another school after only a short time at Montgomery College.  The Transfer Studies Certificate allows you to identify yourself as a transfer student right away.  You will receive mailings about advising, transfer workshops and scholarship information. 
  • Transfer students can tailor their programs to meet the admissions requirements of any four-year institution, public or private, in-state or out-of-state.
  • Transfer Studies Certificate students will be encouraged to seek academic advising prior to the registration rush each semester.  Following a plan created with an adviser will help to reduce the number of credits that may not transfer.
  • By issuing this certificate, Montgomery College will receive recognition from the state of Maryland for its role in preparing students for transfer.  
  • Students who have earned 30 transferable credits at a community college may apply for admission to most four-year schools and be evaluated solely on their college record.  Students whose SAT scores and/or high school records did not meet freshman entrance requirements have a second opportunity to be admitted to competitive colleges based on their college performance only.
  • Can I be enrolled in both a major and in the Transfer Studies Certificate program?  Yes - students may declare majors like Business or Engineering, and as they enter the semester that they fulfill the 30-credit requirement for the TS Certificate, they can apply for and be issued a Certificate.
  • This Certificate contains General Education Requirements courses for most Associates degrees offered (AA, AAS, and AS).  Students can easily elect to remain at Montgomery College to complete any of these degrees prior to transfer.  Completion of an AA degree may increase transferability and opportunities for scholarships.
  • Students who are applying for financial aid should continue to choose a 2-year major when enrolling at Montgomery College.  General Studies is recommended for transfer students if a student is undecided about a particular major.  Students can still elect to follow the courses required for the Transfer Studies Certificate and apply to earn it in the semester that they earn 30 credits; in other words, they will be enrolled in an AA program and add on the Certificate as well. 
Choosing Courses for the Transfer Studies Certificate

The critical message of the Transfer Studies Certificate is to seek advisement each semester when choosing courses for transfer.  Students don't necessarily have to have a specific major in mind for this Certificate, but giving as much information as possible to an adviser will help you choose courses.  Be ready to answer these questions:

  • What transfer school or schools are you considering?  

  • If you're completely undecided about where you want to go (and this is normal!), think about whether you want to look at public or private schools, in Maryland or out-of-state.  

  • What major or majors are you thinking about?  Your choices for math and electives may vary depending on the majors that interest you.  Even vague possibilities of majors can be helpful - or telling us those that you may have ruled out.

  • Having a major in mind is NOT essential, but this doesn't mean that you have to avoid the question altogether.  Use courses in the General Elective column to do some exploration - "Introduction to..."  classes may help.

Transfer planning can begin the moment you enroll at Montgomery College.  Visit colleges and universities to get a feel for what kind of atmosphere you might like.   Follow the Montgomery College Steps to Transfer link for detailed advice on the planning process.

General Education Courses:  Choose courses from the menu below.  The Transfer Studies Certificate has selected out half of the General Education courses you'll need for most transfer schools - so be sure to keep this in mind as you pick classes.  

This chart, with links to general education courses, compares requirements for the TS Certificate and the General Studies AA degree:

 Transfer Studies Certificate  Associate of Arts Degree

Foundation - two courses:

 

Foundation:  Four courses:  

English foundation (EN 102 or 109)

3

English foundation (EN 102 or 109)

3

Mathematics foundation (MA 110 or higher)

3

Math foundation (MA 110 or higher)   3

 

 

HE - Any health course 1
   

SP Course - SP 108, 112 or 212

 3
       

Distribution - four courses: Choose from Distribution Lists or the MC 2004-2005 Catalog, p. 67 - 70

 

Distribution - seven courses: Choose from Distribution Lists or the MC 2004-2005 Catalog, p. 67 - 70   

Arts distribution

3

Arts distribution

3

Humanities distribution

3

Humanities distribution

3

    One Additional Arts or Humanities 3

Behavioral and social sciences distribution

3

Behavioral and social sciences distribution
(2 from 2 different disciplines)

6

Natural sciences lab distribution

4

Natural sciences, 2 courses, one must
have a laboratory

7

General Electives (use EN 101 here) 11 General Electives

24

Click here for a printable spreadsheet for the Transfer Studies Certificate - 30 credits

Click here for a printable spreadsheet for the Associate of Arts in General Studies - 60 credits (recommended for transfer)


Special Information for Montgomery College Advisers
  • Students who are currently enrolled in other majors/programs may submit an application for this program without changing their major to the Certificate.  The program should be listed on an application for Graduation as "Transfer Studies Certificate"  # 234.
  • Students who are applying for financial aid should continue to choose a 2-year major when enrolling at Montgomery College.  General Studies is recommended for transfer students if a student is undecided about a particular major.  Students can still elect to follow the courses required for the Transfer Studies Certificate and apply to earn it in the semester that they earn 30 credits; in other words, they will be enrolled in an AA program and add on the Certificate as well.  This new TS Certificate is in the process of getting special approval from MHEC so that students can qualify for financial aid when enrolled directly; approval pending, likely ready for Fall 2005.   
  • Applicants for the Certificate use the same yellow Application for Graduation used for all other degrees and certificates.  
  • This Certificate is not recommended for students who are also applying for graduation with an Associate's degree in the same semester.  There is no advantage or benefit from earning both.
  • Please sign and attach the Transfer Studies Excel spreadsheet to the Application for Graduation to indicate your review of a student's academic history for Certificate requirements.
  • Find copies of this Transfer Studies Certificate information to use with students on the MC Transfer Page - click on the New Transfer Studies Certificate link.

Favorite Urban Advising Myths: Common misperceptions kept alive by the unknowing.

by Tom Price, Counselor, Germantown Campus

 

Favorite Urban Advising Myth # 1:  “I’m following the General Studies Associate of Arts program here.  I’ll pick my major when I get to the four year school.”

 

This could be a great plan for losing credits upon transfer. 

 

In the first two years of the General Studies transfer program, students take a combination of General Education courses and General Elective courses.  The General Elective courses can include career exploration courses (BA 101 Intro to Business, ED 101 Foundations of Education), but at some point, choices should support a possible four-year major or majors.  Even General Education courses may need to be selected with major(s) in mind (for example, math choices vary by possible majors).  If a student takes too many unrelated General Education and General Elective courses, they may lose the courses upon transfer because the courses won't apply to a specific major. 


General Studies remains a great transfer degree because students can include courses toward a major or majors in the General Electives column.  Here's a spreadsheet view: http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/studevgt/GENSTUDIES0405.htm  
(Find all degree worksheets on the Advisor's Desktop http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/studev/advisor.htm under MC Advising Worksheets).

 

Favorite Urban Advising Myth # 2:  “Math 100 satisfies the General Education foundation requirement.”

This myth qualifies for an academic “dopeslap.”   It’s that reading thing again, page 67 of the 2004-05 catalog.  Just because MC gives credit for MA100 does not make it a foundational math course.  A foundational math course unless otherwise specified must be MA110 or higher.

Favorite Urban Advising Myths submitted by the legendary Tom Price, who punctures myths daily.  Do you have a favorite advising urban myth?  Send them to mailto:anne.scheleicher@montgomerycollege.edu for future issues of the Transfer Times.




The Snapshot:  
A Quick Look at Maximum Class Sizes at Two Maryland Public Institutions...

Montgomery College

University of Maryland, College Park

EN 101 

25 students

ENGL 101

22 students

SO 101 Sociology 

30 students

SOCY 101

180 students in Lecture,
(2 x week)
20 in Discussion
(1 x week)

CA 120 Computer Applic.

26 students

BMGT 201
Computing

180 in Lecture
30 in Lab

AC 201 
     Accounting I

30 students

BMGT 201
Acct'g I

200 students in Lecture,
40 in Discussion

HS 201 US
     History 

35 students

HIST 200
US

240 students in Lecture,                               20 students in Discussion

BI 107 Biology

24 Lecture,
24 in Lab

BIOL 105
Biology

240 students in Lecture,
20 in Lab

MA 180
      Precalculus 

28 students

MATH 140
Precalc.

180 in Lecture,
31 in Discussion

EC 201
      Economics

30 students

= ECON 200      Economics

434 in Lecture,
40 in Discussion

PY 102  General
      Psychology

30 students

PSYC 100

500 in Lecture,
25 in Discussion

                     Source:  UMCP Fall 2004 Schedule ; MC Fall 2004 Schedule

This chart is one slide of many in a Montgomery College Transfer Presentation - see it at:  www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/studev/MC-TransferPresentation.htm

UMUC Prefers One International Credit Evaluation Company

The University of Maryland, University College (UMUC) has informed us that they no longer accept International Credit Evaluations from WES (World Education Service).   Montgomery College continues to accept WES evaluations; for more information regarding UMUC, please see www.umuc.edu/studserv/international/intl_credeval.html 
Note that the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) does not accept international credit evaluation reports from any company; they perform evaluations of original transcripts themselves.  
Here are links to other pages describing evaluations at nearby colleges and universities:
UMBC, like UMUC, prefers AACRAO:  www.applyweb.com/apply/umbc/instructions.html#international 
Towson lists WES as one credit evaluation company:  wwwnew.towson.edu/intladm/requirements.html 

November is Career Month

Students who plan to transfer may need to do some career planning to choose possible majors.  
Refer them to the Montgomery College On-Line Career Planning Workshop as a place to start the process!
  www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/studev/careeronline.htm 
  Another way to learn the career planning process is by taking DS 103, Career Development, a one-credit course available either in class or on-line.

Local Community Counseling Resources

DSS Counselor Janet Merrick, Rockville, generously maintains a College web page showing resources for Montgomery County residents in need.  Use this page to find community help for students in crisis, or who need assistance with housing, food, clothing, legal aid, medical care, child care, and transportation issues (and more). 
www.mc.cc.md.us/Departments/studev/commun-couns-res.html  

Writing Letters of Recommendation

Students often ask faculty members for recommendations for college applications and scholarships. Some applications include blank recommendation forms - others instruct students to ask for a letter of recommendation. We advise students to choose current or recent teachers who know a student well enough to say positive things about work habits, etc.  You can ask students to provide you with background information including career goals, current activities and interests using this printable questionnaire. This Word Document also includes a generic recommendation form.  www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/studev/RecForm.doc    Keeping letters you've written on file as a Word documents will allow you to write future letters as needed.  Please note that we suggest that students give recommendation writers at least two weeks to complete a form.
Here are some websites that go into greater detail on Writing Letters of Recommendation:
http://gradschool.about.com/cs/writingletters/a/writeletter.htm
www.uwgb.edu/careers/Recommendation_Letters.htm

Communication Major Coming to the Universities at Shady Grove

The University of Maryland, College Park is bringing the Communication Studies major to the Universities at Shady Grove for Fall 2005.  Considered one of the more popular majors at UMCP's main campus, this program promises that "those educated in the field of communication will make vital contributions to their own welfare and the welfare of others."

"The strength of a Communication major resides in an understanding of the place of communication in humanness and in a fully developed ability to participate effectively and responsibly in communicating with others. Your education in Communication will go beyond performance courses that teach the skills of speaking into courses that explore our knowledge of communication in business, government, and other human institutions and relationships. Although Communication is not a professional degree, few choices of major afford such vital knowledge in preparing for a career. In many professions, employers praise the ability to communicate as central to an effective employee. As a result, our majors move rapidly into a broad range of careers. Effective preparation for a career in communication begins in the mastery of communication performance and matures in mastery of our extensive knowledge of strategies to improve the quality of communication throughout our society."

"Over the years, Communication has also served as an exceptional pre-professional major. Particularly those who proceed to study law, the helping professions, and governmental service have found the major critical to their later success. Many of our students remain in Communication by pursuing graduate work."    For more information on this program, visit this link:  www.comm.umd.edu/undergraduate/ughandbook.html or contact USG-Shady Grove at 301-738-6000.

What's Your Excuse?

Tom Price, author of Urban Advising Myths, has suggested that we poll faculty members for the most creative excuses they've heard from students for missing tests, class, etc.  What does it have to do with transfer? 
Not much - but it sounds fun!  
Send those excuses to Tom.price@montgomerycollege.edu who promises to compile them for a future issue.  
Unless he has to go out of town to donate another kidney to his great-grandmother.

Links of Note

Top Ten Most Popular Majors - The Princeton Review has 'em - www.princetonreview.com/college/research/articles/majors/popular.asp 

''It's Cool to Be Smart"  Freeman Hrabowski at UMBC is nurturing a new generation of African-American scientists and mathematicians. His lesson plan: high standards, hand-on help, and some killer chess.  www.fastcompany.com/online/57/hrabowski.html

New Information Page for High School Students and HS Counselors - This new link off of the MC Transfer Page is a one-stop shop for ANY MC program that may be of interest to high school students and high school counselors.  See if we've missed anything, and suggest additional topics!  www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/studev/hsinfo.html

The Transfer Times is a monthly publication of Montgomery College
Edited by Transfer Counselor anne.schleicher@montgomerycollege.edu

Check out the MC Transfer Information Page at www.montgomerycollege.edu

Back Issues of the Transfer Times

ads 11/19/04