Jackson College Partners with Wayne State in New Equity Transfer Initiative

(January 26, 2021 11:22 AM) Jackson College announced its participation with Wayne State University in an Equity Transfer Initiative (ETI), a new effort led by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) to improve transfer success.

The two-year ETI awards up to $27,500 to partnerships to increase transfer and completion for underrepresented student populations, including African American, Hispanic, adult, and first-generation learners. Focus on evidence-based strategies will help enhance completion of degrees that lead to family-sustaining wages.

“I’m delighted that Jackson College is one of 16 higher education partnerships chosen nationally to participate in this project. This forward-looking project is designed to enhance the academic completion of under-represented students and ensure their successful transfer to a baccalaureate-granting institution – in our case, Wayne State University,” said Dr. Daniel J. Phelan, president. “We are deeply grateful to Dr. Ahmad Ezzeddine from Wayne State for his leadership and partnership in this important work.”

“Our student services team is looking forward to working alongside the team from Wayne State, which will result in a much better experience for some of our most vulnerable student populations. This is just another example of our strong partnership with Wayne State that began with opening a WSU attendance center on our Central Campus.”

Students may face a host of barriers when they transfer from community college to university, said Chief Diversity Officer Lee Hampton. They may not have all the necessary courses for transfer, face technology problems, or lack important support systems. 

JC’s University Transfer Liaison Stephanie Waffle-Stephenson was a first-generation college student herself who wishes she had known more about resources available. Today she works to help Jackson College students make successful transitions to their university of choice. “Although there have been great strides to make the transfer process as easy to understand and seamless as possible, there are still nuances that can make it difficult to navigate. The Equity Transfer Initiative project will provide us an opportunity to really dive deep into our processes and view them through an equity lens.”

Hampton continued, “We’re very excited for this initiative to help produce more equitable outcomes, to improve those transfer rates and close equity gaps.”

Sixteen partnerships from 13 states representing 17 community colleges and 19 universities were selected. For more information, visit “Equity Transfer Initiative Aims to Increase Completion for Minority Students – AACC (nche.edu).”