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Interstate Passport: Streamlining Transfer for Increased Student Success

Thursday, February 27, 2020 at 1:00pm MT

Hosted by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), this webinar introduced participants to Interstate Passport®, a growing national program that facilitates block transfer of completed lower-division general education attainment based on student learning outcomes rather than on specific courses and credits. The webinar featured administrators from NWCCU accredited institutions from Alaska, Idaho, and Utah who provided their perspective on the benefits of joining and implementing Interstate Passport on their campuses.

Students who transfer with a Passport to another member institution are recognized as having completed all lower-division general education requirements prior to transfer, regardless of course titles and number of credits.

Speakers

Anna Galas
Anna Galas, director of academic leadership initiatives, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education

Anna Galas is the director of academic leadership initiatives for the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). In that role she oversees the WICHE Online Course Exchange program and two membership organizations of chief academic leaders in the region–the Western Academic Leadership Forum and the Western Alliance of Community College Academic Leaders—and their related projects.  Additionally, Galas manages the Interstate Passport®, a program designed to facilitate nationwide block transfer of lower-division general education based on learning outcomes for institutions participating in the Interstate Passport Network. Galas holds a M.S. in exercise and movement science from the University of Oregon and an B.S. from the University of California, Davis in physical education.

Headshot of Dan Kline

Daniel T. Kline (PhD, Indiana University) is Professor of English and Director of General Education at the University of Alaska Anchorage, where he specializes in medieval literature and culture, literary theory, and digital medievalism. His formal research concerns children, violence, and ethics in late-medieval England and neomedievalism and digital gaming. Recent publications include Digital Gaming Re-Imagines the Middle Ages (Routledge, 2014), and he is a co-editor of the recently launched Open Access Companion to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (https://opencanterburytales.dsl.lsu.edu/). In Fall 2018 UAA enacted an Alaska Native GenEd requirement, which requires all incoming UAA students to take an Alaska Native themed course.

Sherry Simkins Headshot
Sherry Simkins, division chair for communication and fine arts, North Idaho College

Sherry Simkins has served as Division Chair for Communication and Fine Arts at North Idaho College since 2012. As chair, she oversees programs in Communication, Journalism, Fine Arts, Music, and Theatre. She has been an instructor of Communication since 2005. She also serves as a faculty discipline representative for the Idaho Statewide General Education. Simkins received her B.S. and M.A. in Communication at Southern Utah University. She is currently pursuing her Doctorate in Educational Leadership at Idaho State University.

Michael Torrens Utah State University
Michael Torrens, director of analysis, assessment and accreditation, Utah State University

Michael Torrens is director of Analysis, Assessment and Accreditation (AAA) at Utah State University, a premier student-centered, land-grant and space-grant university. He leads institutional research, assessment, and accreditation efforts. The AAA office is a resource for data-driven decisions, serving USU’s students, faculty, staff, administration, and the wider community. Previously, Torrens served as director of Applied Research and Innovation at the Corporation for Enterprise Development in Washington, D.C., where he managed the Local Capital Market Investment Fund and led asset-building research, program development and policy work for six years. Prior to his work in Washington, he served as executive director of New Jersey Community Capital. His international work encompasses Zimbabwe, Colombia, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru. He holds a B.A. from Brown University and M.P.P. from Princeton University.

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