St. Louis Community College Celebrates Passage of Transfer Bill

St. Louis Community College and the Missouri Community College Association (MCCA) are extremely grateful to the Missouri General Assembly for passing a transformative bill that simplifies and strengthens the pathways from community college to a four-year degree. The newly approved Higher Education Core Curriculum Transfer Act represents a significant victory for Missouri students by guaranteeing that key coursework will transfer seamlessly between public colleges and universities across the state.

The legislation, now on its way to Governor Kehoe’s desk for signature, establishes a 60-credit-hour, transferable lower-division course block for five high-demand degree programs: general business, elementary education, general psychology, nursing, and general biology or biological sciences. Once signed into law, this legislation will ensure that students who complete this course block at any Missouri public community college will have their credits entirely accepted by any public university offering the same program.

“This legislation creates consistency within lower-division courses and will save students time and money on their educational pursuit,” said Jeff L. Pittman, chancellor of St. Louis Community College. “The passage of this bill is a win for students, families and Missouri taxpayers. Ensuring students won’t have to retake lower-division courses in their declared major when they transfer to a university will create a much more seamless process. Seeing Missouri’s public colleges and universities unite to improve student pathways is great.”

Under the act, all public institutions will adopt a common course numbering system and course equivalency matrix, ensuring that core courses' content and credit value are recognized statewide. In collaboration with the Coordinating Board for Higher Education, a committee of experts will work to design single articulation pathways that guide students clearly and efficiently from associate to bachelor’s degrees.