College of Education and Behavioral Sciences News

WKU was among the organizations recognized this week by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education and the Kentucky Student Success Collaborative for improving student success. Chris Jensen (second from right) represented WKU at the 2024 Student Success Summit awards presentation. (CPE photo)

Western Kentucky University and Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College were recognized this week by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) and the Kentucky Student Success Collaborative (KYSSC) for a partnership to improve student success.

WKU and SKYCTC received the Partnership for Transfer award during the 2024 Student Success Summit, CPE’s signature event that promotes innovative approaches to student success.

In the past two years, WKU and SKYCTC have worked with CPE and the National Association of System Heads (NASH) on a program to increase transfer rates for students who start at a community college.

“Working on the NIC (NASH Improvement Community) has resulted in a stronger partnership between WKU and SKYCTC that will result in lead to more students successfully transferring,” said Christopher Jensen, WKU’s Assistant Vice President for Student Success. “Already we are seeing an increase in transfer numbers between the two partner schools.”

Over the course of the past two academic years, transfer between the two institutions increased by 54% through strong collaboration and commitment to remove barriers for students.

“Our work is not only impacting transfer rates in the region, but nationally, as other institutions are using our findings to inform transfer practices,” Jensen said.

Results of the work between WKU and SKYCTC have been featured in reports by Inside Higher Ed and the U.S. Department of Education.

More than 400 higher education professionals gathered Monday and Tuesday (February 26-27) at WKU’s Knicely Conference Center. The theme of this year’s summit was Partnerships that Work, which focused on partnership development as a tool to advance student success. (Read more about the Student Success Summit.)

Contact: Chris Jensen, (270) 745-5065