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Pasadena City College has been recognized as being the top community college in California in producing the most students with Associate Degrees for Transfer (ADT).

According to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, PCC awarded 435 ADTs in the 2013-2014 academic year, a significant hike from last year’s 264. Furthermore, compared to other popular colleges such as Mt San Antonio College, which awarded 235 ADTs, and Santa Monica College, which awarded 110 ADTs, PCC students have greater access to fundamental classes they need and information that may be essential for transferring.

Students who commit toward graduating with an ADT are given priority admission to any California State University as long as they take all the required classes for their major and maintain a 2.0 GPA. Students and counselors are able to build an education plan to ensure that students will be able to meet all requirements for a transfer guarantee.

“I think counselors have been more hands-on lately with students wanting to transfer, like myself, to get an education plan going,” said Lauren Dexley, a history major planning to transfer to Cal State Long Beach. “It’s guaranteed admission as long as I keep up my own end of the deal, so it motivates me to work hard and transfer quickly.”

However, PCC was able to finish as number one with hard work and effort not just by the students, but also from the faculty who helped lead the way.

“I was very pleased that the collective efforts of the faculty, staff members, and managers created such a great benefit for our students,” said Dr. Cynthia Olivo, Associate Vice President of Student Services, during a phone interview. “It really took everyone to work together to implement the new ADT requirements. In 2011, a new registration took place and, right then and there, faculty members had to learn the new changes and counselors had to learn the new requirements for transfer.”

PCC has further plans to help make the process faster and easier for students to receive an ADT by having a bigger online presence for students.

“In approximately a year and a half, we will introduce a new service where students can check their transfer requirements online,” said Olivo. “Students will be able to self-monitor their progress, and this will allow students to stay on top of other requirements they might need… Even if a student may not know what they want to major in, we can help them figure out what major they can transfer with in accordance to the classes they have already taken.”

Furthermore, taking advantage of the ADT program will not only help students to transfer, but it will help them after as well.

“The ADT requirements for transfer align with the CSU’s lower division requirements. This means it could allow transfer students to graduate sooner, because they won’t have to take more classes,” explains Olivo. “Some CSUs give more priority to students who graduate with an ADT, making the student a more competitive applicant.”

Until the online services are completed, students who have already submitted their petition for graduation with an ADT urge other students to take advantage of the counselors in order to stay ahead of the pack.

“I stayed in touch with my counselors and advisors whenever I had a question,” said Jessica Seama, a biology major who has already submitted all her CSU transfer applications and will graduate with an ADT next semester. “There is an abundance of information available for students wishing to transfer… It is not easy, but it is not impossible.”

Any students who are interested in taking advantage of transferring to a California State University with an ADT should visit PCC’s website for more information on requirements and deadlines.

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