Jacobs appointed to national task force on transfer credit

Dr. Bonita Jacobs, president of the University of North Georgia (UNG), has been appointed to the American Council on Education (ACE) National Task Force on Transfer of Credit. The task force is focused on improving transfer and award of credit practices to spur student success and reduce the time it takes to graduate.

ACE announced members of the task force, which include presidents and chancellors of two- and four-year, public and private nonprofit colleges and universities from across the country, on Jan. 30. The task force will produce a report containing best practices and emerging strategies in early 2021.

"Transfer students are a unique and growing group who have much to contribute to the college campus community, but they sometimes encounter challenges associated with the transfer process, especially in awarding of credits," Jacobs said. "I look forward to contributing to national solutions that support seamless transfer of credits for students."

A 2018 snapshot from National Student Clearinghouse data found that more than a million students, 38% of the 2.8 million entering college for the first time in fall 2011, transferred to a different institution at least once within six years. Unfortunately, as these students transfer, many of them lose academic credit.

Jacobs founded the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students (NISTS), which is hosted at UNG's Dahlonega Campus, in 2002 in response to a lack of professional development opportunities and research literature focused on transfer students. NISTS is the only national organization solely focused on transfer student success.

Jacobs also has published "The College Transfer Student in America: The Forgotten Student" and is a frequent speaker on transfer and student success issues.