MARQUETTE, Mich.—Six of the Upper Peninsula’s higher education institutions have entered into an agreement that will help students complete a reverse transfer associate degree while working on a bachelor’s degree.

The reverse credit transfer process means a student who did not fulfill all of the course requirements of an associate degree before beginning work on a bachelor’s degree can use the credits gained at the baccalaureate level to complete the associate degree. This often allows the student to enter the workforce while completing his or her bachelor’s degree program.

 “Students and their families are more aware of the process for transferring credits from an associate degree program into a bachelor’s degree, but are not always familiar with the concept of reverse transfer, which allows bachelor’s degree credits to be applied toward completion of an associate degree,” said Northern Michigan University President Les Wong. “This agreement formalizes that process between our colleges and universities. It provides students, mostly U.P. students, an option that gives them a degree they can use to enter the workforce while they continue on to a bachelor’s degree. For some students, being able to work is critical to their ability to complete a bachelor’s degree program.”

The schools participating in the consortial agreement are NMU, Bay College, Gogebic Community College, Finlandia University, Lake Superior State University and Michigan Technological University.

The institutions’ presidents hope the agreement will address three issues in particular: undocumented learning, increasing and promoting associate degree completion for transfer students, and encouraging students to continue on to a bachelor’s degree.

Students interested in taking advantage of the reverse transfer program should visit the registrar's office of their college or university for more information.