A new agreement signed by universities and community colleges in Kansas can help students earn associate degrees.
The program is aimed at helping students who transfer from a community college to a university, and puts in place a "reverse transfer" policy.
Students who can be helped by this include those who transfer to a university before finishing their associate degree at a community college. After the student earns the required credits for an associate degree at a university, the community college the student previously attended will automatically issue the degree.
Breeze Richardson, with the Kansas Board of Regents, says this offers real benefits for students.
"The most transparent one is that if you for some reason didn't finish your bachelor's, but you finished that associate, to have that degree is really important as you move forward in your professional life," she says.
Kansas is one of 20 states with this type of transfer agreement.
