{"id":97361,"date":"2019-05-24T13:07:15","date_gmt":"2019-05-24T23:07:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=97361"},"modified":"2019-05-24T13:07:15","modified_gmt":"2019-05-24T23:07:15","slug":"interstate-passports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2019\/05\/24\/interstate-passports\/","title":{"rendered":"Transfers become easier with Interstate Passports"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

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In April, the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>–West Oʻahu<\/span><\/a> awarded its first Interstate Passports<\/a> to 815 students who fulfilled course requirements during the fall 2018 semester. Earning an Interstate Passport means all of a student\u2019s lower-division general education courses will be accepted in one block at any network member institution.<\/p>\n

UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span> and Leeward Community College<\/a> have piloted the Interstate Passport initiative within the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> System over the past five years. The Interstate Passport Network<\/a> is a network of regionally-accredited institutions that agree to transfer completed general education requirements in a seamless and efficient process among its members. <\/p>\n

Students receiving their passport designation were alerted through an email in early April. It stated, in part, that they had achieved “a milestone in your academic pathway in higher education and have demonstrated an impressive level of proficiency in foundational skills, knowledge of concepts, teamwork, and critical thinking.”<\/p>\n

The passports facilitate transfers across state lines and are particularly useful to active military, military dependents and anyone else whose employment or life circumstances necessitates a sudden move to the U.S.<\/abbr> continent. Students who transfer into UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span> with a Interstate Passport will not have to repeat or take additional courses to satisfy lower-division general education requirements. It recognizes a student has achieved learning outcomes in nine knowledge and skill areas that network member institutions agree are consistent with their own general education learning outcomes.<\/p>\n

“Receiving the passport reconfirmed my commitment to my educational goals,” UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span> student Pearlena Stone<\/strong> said. A senior majoring in social sciences\/psychology, Stone is also a graduate of Leeward CC<\/abbr>. “I\u2019m glad that my current and past institutions are working together to make the transition for transfer students less troublesome.”<\/p>\n

An Interstate Passport provides options to those whose life changes and pulls them away from their Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> home. UH<\/abbr> System\u2019s eight other campuses are working toward developing their own passports so that they can join UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span> and Leeward CC<\/abbr> in this student-centered initiative.<\/p>\n