Northwestern’s School of Continuing Studies has reached an agreement on a formal transfer guide with a community college for the first time.

Under the agreement, students from Harper College, located in Palatine, a Chicago suburb, who meet the requirements set forth under the guide can transfer to the School of Continuing Studies and earn bachelor’s degrees in 21 different majors.

“The transfer guide helps them with course selection at Harper if their ultimate goal is to transfer here,” said Allyson Simmons, School of Continuing Studies undergraduate admissions coordinator. “Students don’t even know Northwestern is an option.”

Although students from other community colleges and four-year institutions can transfer to the School of Continuing Studies, Simmons said the school specifically wanted to target Harper for the new transfer guide because of its proximity as well as its well-respected faculty, students and programs.

“Harper College is one of the strongest local community colleges out there,” Simmons said.

About 10 students from Harper transfer to the School of Continuing Studies each year, but Simmons said she hopes that number will increase as a result of the guide.

“We’re really going to see the fruits of this labor a year or two from now,” she said. “We really hope it’s going to help double the amount of students we get from Harper.”

The guide will give students a better understanding of what NU looks for in transfer students, Simmons said. Many courses offered at community colleges are vocational or technical, so they often are not transferable at the School of Continuing Studies.

Simmons warned that the transfer agreement is simply a guide that lets Harper students know what kind of courses the School of Continuing Studies typically accepts with a grade of C or higher and is not a formal course equivalency agreement or contract with the college.

“Northwestern wants to have the freedom to say, ‘This course we want, this course we don’t want,’ when it comes to transfer,” she said.

The School of Continuing Studies offers evening and weekend courses to meet the educational needs of its nontraditional students, who come from different age groups and backgrounds.

“The majority of our students work full-time and attend part-time in the evening,” Simmons said. “Having that part-time evening program lets them realize their dreams because school isn’t their only focus, compared to the traditional undergraduate student.”

If the transfer guide proves a success at Harper, Simmons said the School of Continuing Studies may create transfer guides with other local community colleges in the future, such as Oakton Community College, College of DuPage and College of Lake County.

Reach Andrea Chang at [email protected].