PLNU students who are taking 12 to 17 units are paying $1,170 per unit, according to the PLNU website. These same students have the opportunity to easily transfer credits at a cheaper cost from a number of community colleges. So, why aren’t more students taking advantage of it?
PLNU has a transfer agreement with community colleges throughout the state of California and some in neighboring states such as Arizona. This agreement lists the courses at various community colleges that can take the place of a PLNU course but at a much lower cost.
Students have the ability to transfer up to 70 units, according to Jennifer Klotz, the Records Assistant at PLNU. 12 of the units can be taken online, and all 70 units can go toward general education requirements or lower division courses that are required for PLNU students to graduate.
Klotz says, “Most students transfer [units] from Saddleback or the SDCCD colleges, which is the San Diego Community College District.” The SDCCD includes the San Diego City College, San Diego Mesa College and San Diego Miramar College.
“The current enrollment fee is $46.00 per unit” and “the nonresident tuition is $221 per unit,” according to the SDCCD website. These community college courses are nearly $1,000 dollars cheaper than the PLNU courses students are taking.
But the transfer agreement is not just beneficial because of the cost. PLNU’s transfer agreement allows students who attend a community college for the first two years of college to transfer their courses without questioning whether or not they will count toward their PLNU education.
This transfer agreement serves as a guide for students who may be behind in their courses or transferred from a university where the units did not all successfully transfer.
“I thought when I transferred to PLNU as a junior I would get to focus on my major required courses for the next two years and be done with general education classes,” says PLNU junior managerial and organizational communications student Maddie Leighty. “What I didn’t know is that only a handful of classes I took at the JC [19–22 units per semester] didn’t transfer.”
But for the students who are aware of PLNU’s transfer agreement, they have a better chance of avoiding these issues. The transfer agreement lists only preapproved classes that will substitute for certain classes offered by PLNU.
Klotz says, “It’s usually a good idea [to take community college courses] if a student is wanting to get ahead so they can focus on major classes.”
The Transfer Agreement can help transfer students who are playing catch up with their units or for students who just want to get ahead. Community college allows students to make sure they graduate on time in a more cost-effective manner.
Check out https://www.pointloma.edu/offices/records/undergraduate-records/transferring-credit to find out more about PLNU’s Transfer Agreement.
Katie Kepler 
Steve Anderson 
superadmin