OCCC transfer students have edge over others

OCCC transfer student GPAs are about the same as undergraduate students GPAs at area four-year universities, according to a report by Curriculum and Assessment Director Catherine Kinyon.

Academic Affairs Vice President Felix Aquino said he’s not surprised by the findings.

He attributes the comparison to what he calls OCCC’s “second-to-none” facilities.

“We are one of six community colleges in the country that has a cadaver lab,” Aquino said.

“Have you been to our film and video production? I mean, that is professional.

“You’re not going to find anything better between here and Mexico City.”

The  GPAs of students who transfer from OCCC reflect the findings.

Numbers show that OCCC students who transfer to the University of Central Oklahoma have GPAs averaging a 2.9.

Students who transfer to Oklahoma State University have GPAs which average to a 3.0, and students who transfer to the University of Oklahoma have the highest GPA average  —usually ranging at 3.2.

That wasn’t always the case.

According to a report by Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, OCCC students who transferred to OU between 2003 and 2006 had performances averaging a 2.7 GPA.

Aquino said he attributes the increase to the high standards OCCC sets for its students.

“We expect a higher level of rigor from our students than is at the receiving institutions,” he said.

“From my perspective, that’s purely hearsay. But I do know that we are very rigorous and we do not grade on a curve here.”

Another factor, he said, is OCCC’s small class sizes.

He said that plays a vital part in student success.

“Normally, our classes top out at 25 or 40 — not several hundred as happens in some of the universities.”

Aquino said OCCC also is good at communicating to students that the college cares about them.

“We’ve had many, many students who transfer to OU or UCO and they’re doing great, and they say, ‘can’t I come back? I miss this,’ because we are a very student-centered organization,” he said.

OCCC also is very concientious when it comes to training the professors who teach here, Aquino said.

“We put a lot of resources into teaching people how to teach and how to be better teachers,” he said.

OCCC does not compromise standards, Aquino said, and has the means and resources to get students where they need to be, such as labs.

“ … We want to surround our students around that — the Math Lab, the Communications Lab, the World Languages and Cultures Center,” he said.

For the eight years Aquino has been at OCCC, he said, the college has lived up to these same standards.

“I think this is a great place if you’re thinking of transferring,” he said. “If your goal is to get a bachelor’s degree, this is a great way to start it.”

For more information about transferring to a four-year university, call Student Support Services at 405-682-7865, or visit www.occc.edu/sss/transfer.

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