Path To Bachelor’s Degrees Simplified With Over 180 Articulation Agreements
Posted February 20, 2025 at 9:33 amPennsylvania Highlands Community College makes it easier than ever for students to achieve their academic goals. By offering Associate of Arts (A.A.) and Associate of Science (A.S.) degrees, commonly known as transfer degrees, Penn Highlands provides a seamless transition from community college to four-year colleges and universities.
These programs are specifically designed to align with general education requirements at four-year institutions, ensuring graduates can transfer as juniors without losing time or credits. With articulation agreements, Penn Highlands students can be confident in knowing their hard-earned credits will count toward their bachelor’s degree.
As of February 2025, Penn Highlands has established more than 180 articulation agreements with 34 colleges and universities in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia. These agreements cover institutions such as all 14 Pennsylvania state universities, the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Mount Aloysius College, Seton Hill University, Saint Francis University, and many more.
Agreements with Point Park University, West Virginia University, and Penn State Altoona were added in 2024. When Penn Highlands does not have a formal agreement for a student’s major, the College helps them navigate the process and achieve their goals through the Liberal Arts and Sciences – Self Design major.
“Students can truly start at Penn Highlands and go anywhere,” stated Michelle Stumpf, Dean of Enrollment Services & Registrar. “Our goal is to provide students with the most affordable, straight forward, pathway to a degree. The relationships and agreements we have created with other colleges and universities help our students confidently transfer all their credits into their desired degree program without loss of credit.”
The College provides three types of articulation agreements designed to provide the best path for students to their chosen four-year institution. These include:
- Program to Program Agreements – A Program-to-Program agreement allows students who graduate with specified transfer or career degrees to transfer all of the credits earned within that program to the designated college or university. The guides provide an academic plan with course recommendations for students to follow in order to prepare for a specific major at the designated college or university.
- Core to Core Agreements – Core-to-Core agreements (also known as GenEd-to-GenEd agreements) document a particular college’s or university’s promise to accept the general education credits embedded in a specific Penn Highlands degree. Even though some exceptions apply, students will receive credit for the general education or core requirements of that institution. See individual articulation agreements for specifics.
- 3+1 Agreements – The 3+1 (or 3 years + 1 year) agreement enables students to transfer their associate degree plus an additional 30+ credits toward the requirements of a bachelor’s degree, leaving students with approximately 1 year to complete the degree.
Over the past three years, 2,364 former Penn Highlands students have transferred to or were enrolled at 228 different four-year colleges or universities.