Students considering transferring to another school face many questions and concerns, especially when it comes to how and if their credits will count at another school. But the Louisiana Board of Regents last week unveiled a new online system to assist students considering making a transfer to a different state college.
The Regents E-Matrix is an articulation tool in which students either can choose a college or courses to see how many of their current credits will transfer to another state school.
Students can use the matrix to search either by their current college, the college to which they wish to transfer or by general education courses in areas such as arts, English, mathematics, natural and social sciences.
According to Lisa Vosper, assistant commissioner for Accountability and Work Force Initiatives with the Board of Regents, the matrix is the result of the same legislative act that created the technical college system in Louisiana.
Vosper said the Board initiated the system in part because of the increasing number of students transferring from technical and community colleges to larger universities.
LSU has experienced a portion of this influx. According to information from the Office of Budget and Planning, there were 1,104 new transfer undergraduate students enrolled last semester, a 29 percent increase from fall 2001.
Vosper stressed students should use the matrix system only as a helpful tool, not a definitive guide.
“All students should contact the institution into which they plan to transfer,” Vosper said. “This is a tool to assist students in the interim and compare their credits among and between schools.”
The Regents Web site also reminds students while general education courses can transfer relatively easily between schools, courses may not apply all degree programs.
Students who wish to view the matrix may do so at the Board of Regents Web site at www.regents.state.la.us.