Rachel McClurg
Editor-in-Chief
Transferring to a four year university can be a little nerve racking when taking into account the fact that some classes taken at a community college might not transfer. As a result, Butler and Wichita State have decided to team up to help students avoid that.
“The overall goal of the articulation agreements is to provide a seamless transfer for students,” Vice President of Academics Lori Winningham said. “If they come to Butler for their first two years, then we know exactly how those courses will fit into the bachelor’s degree at WSU or other transfer institutions.”
In order to possibly make that transferring process easier, Butler and Wichita State signed 17 articulation agreements on Wednesday, March 27.
“Butler is WSU’s number one source of transfer students,” Humanities and Social Sciences Dean Susan Bradley said. “It is extremely important that the two institutions work in partnership to serve students because students who earn college degrees benefit themselves and others.”
Signing the articulation agreements with Wichita State is just the beginning of Butler’s plans. Butler is currently working on signing agreements with other major universities in Kansas.
“We are working on a number of articulation agreements not only with WSU but also with Newman University, Friends University, Kansas State University, Fort Hays State University and others,” Winningham said. “Students benefit when we pave the way for their transfer to the next level.”
In order for students to make the most of this opportunity, it would be helpful to take advantage of the advising opportunities at both Butler and Wichita State.
“Our advisors are very knowledgeable and work very hard to make sure students take what they need to take before transferring to WSU,” Winningham said. “If there are any questions, Butler advisors can help students with every step, even calling WSU to clarify things in some cases.”
The fact that many Butler faculty members are alumni from various universities in Kansas is just one of the reasons that Butler started moving toward these agreements.
“Many, but not all Butler faculty members are WSU and Kansas public university alums,” Bradley said. “However, the idea for this large set of agreements came when Lori Winningham, vice president of Academics, and Richard Muma, WSU’s provost, drove to an academic meeting in Hays a couple of years ago. They decided to build a better relationship, and after extensive effort, their plan worked.”
For students that want to learn more about this transfer opportunity, they should speak with an advisor either at Butler or at Wichita State.
