Lantern Staff
Transferring to a four-year college or another two-year college is the goal for most Butler students. But many local four-year colleges do not take some of the credit courses that are offered at Butler or do not take any credit of some two-year colleges. This depends on the student and what their majoring in because some classes are more common than some other majors.
Many four-year colleges do not take classes because they have a specific way of teaching it. Just because a two-year college offered it under the same institution’s name does not mean that the class was taught how the four-year college envisions it. Not all four-year institutions in Kansas have the same major class requirements. The state of Kansas sets up what classes are equal and which can transfer. Then individual institutions set up lists and that is where four-year colleges can acknowledge and accept classes and credits.
“We’re at the mercy of the four-year schools,” Lead Academic Advisor Gary Royce said.
Four-year institutions may offer credit to students who take non-specific transfer credits if students earned these at community colleges. These credits can only be applied for their major or as open electives. Most of the time, students will not lose the credits that are not accepted.
“They may not be able to apply them [the credits] in the way that they want to,” Keith West, professor of mass communications, said.
As the state and federal government slowly decrease the funding for the four-year institutions, they tend to start accepting less and less classes because they need the tuition from their students. These colleges require a lot funding because they may require doing additional duties other than teaching. Professors at these institutions may research and publish in addition to teaching assignments.
To transfer stress free, students should talk to the advisors at Butler to help with any questions and to see which classes transfer to specific colleges. The sooner a student knows what they are planning on majoring in, the faster and safer the advising team can help take sure the classes transfer. According to Royce, dual advising can also help students make sure everything is going to transfer. The Advising Office at both El Dorado and Andover locations can be reached at advising@butlercc.edu.
