Mount Holyoke College

"Since Mount Holyoke College has a long tradition as a leader in providing access to a top quality education for low-income women, our partnership with community colleges is a natural alignment for us. Our community college transfer students make valuable intellectual and social contributions to our diverse learning community."
– Joanne V. Creighton, President of Mount Holyoke College

Through its CCTI grant, Mount Holyoke College has expanded its commitment to enrolling transfer students from community colleges and strengthened its partnership with Holyoke Community College. Mount Holyoke began implementing its CCTI program using a multi-dimensional approach that combines curricular innovation, academic counseling, and mentoring. The program provides a range of activities that not only support students’ academic preparation for the rigors of a highly selective college, but also help students navigate the complexities of the transfer process and ultimately feel like they “belong” on the campus.

Elements of Mount Holyoke College's CCTI program include:

• Significantly enhanced outreach efforts to Holyoke Community College and other community colleges nationwide;
• A Pathways Program at Holyoke Community College that includes a full-time, dedicated academic counseling position; a five-week, non-credit quantitative reasoning course that is offered at Mount Holyoke each semester for potential transfer students; and newly developed, team-taught, interdisciplinary "learning community" courses at HCC for these same students;
• A peer mentoring program for prospective transfer students, staffed by trained Mount Holyoke students who themselves previously transferred from community colleges;
• Increased opportunities and travel arrangements for community college students and transfer counselors to visit our campus;
• Outreach efforts to women veterans who wish to continue their education.

Learn more about Mount Holyoke's achievements and promising practices, or visit Mount Holyoke College's Web site to learn more about transfer opportunities.