Transfer students should not deal with unjust system

The tier 1 and tier 2 transfer systems that have been developed by local CSU campuses is unfair to community college students.

Cal State schools should set a uniform standard for transfer students, ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to matriculate to his or her school of choice.

We understand that CSU campuses are in a bind, but the criteria for accepting community college transfer students developed at Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State L.A., and Cal State Fullerton is unjust.

The entire higher education system in California is under tremendous financial pressure. The UC, CSU and CCC systems are all cutting classes and staff and reducing student enrollment.

However, the criteria for accepting community college transfer students developed at Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State L.A., and Cal State Fullerton is unfair.

Students enrolled in community colleges designated as tier 1 transfer schools may transfer with a GPA of 2.0. However, students in community colleges that are designated as tier 2 schools may transfer only if they have a GPA of 2.5 or higher.

Tier divisions are determined based on the proximity of the community colleges to the CSU campuses and the number of community college students who apply.

In the case of students who plan to transfer to Cal Poly Pomona, Citrus students have dodged a bullet.

Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut has more than double the number of students than Citrus College and is placed in the tier 1 division.

Other community colleges in the San Gabriel Valley, including Rio Hondo, Chaffey and Pasadena City College, have been deemed tier 2 schools.

On Nov. 9, Cal Poly announced that Citrus College would be designated a tier 1 school as well. Citrus is now designated as a tier 1 school thanks to the efforts of our superintendent/president, Geraldine M. Perri, Ph.D.

Cal State Long Beach  is not likely to accept any students with a GPA lower than 2.5.
Cal State Fullerton has not released its GPA requirements. Officials there plan to look through all of their applications and then set the standard.

Each year, Citrus College has approximately 1,200 transfer-ready students. With enrollment growing and competition getting fiercer, CSUs have developed the tier 1/tier 2 systems to cope with the large number of transfer applications.

Budget cuts have adversely affected class offerings and enrollment fees. Now students must deal with biased and unfair transfer policies.

Community colleges students should have equal chances of transferring to CSU campuses, regardless of their choice of community college.

If CSU campuses want to reduce their transfer numbers, then they should raise the minimum GPA to 2.5 for all students transferring from community colleges.
 

Community college students would become more serious about their studies and CSUs could cut down on the number of applications they receive.
 

Community college transfer students should not be categorized based on the area where they have been attending school, nor should they be judged by how many of their fellow students apply to a specific CSU campus.
 

The tier 1 and tier 2 system must be thrown out. The same standards should apply to all transfer students from all of California's community colleges.