The legislature has passed a bill sponsored by State Sen. Marko Liias, a bill that would help students apply class credits from four-year colleges toward degrees at two-year schools.
The State House of Representatives passed the Liias-sponsored Senate Bill 6354 Wednesday. It requires Washington state colleges and universities to develop policies to allow the transfers by the end of 2017.
“Higher education is too expensive for too many students, but this challenge is even worse for students who aren’t able to finish their degrees,” Liias said. “Creating a statewide reverse transfer system will ensure that students who aren’t able to finish a four-year degree can get an associate’s degree if they have enough credits. Giving our students credit when it’s due is an important way to encourage them to stay on the path to graduation.”
A representative for Liias said Friday that, in addition to helping students reach the milestone of a two-year degree, the bill would help community and technical colleges track their success rates.
A student organization had asked Liias to sponsor the bill.
The bill includes provisions for notifying eligible students that they may transfer their credits.
Liias is a Democrat representing the 21st Legislative District, including most of Edmonds, unincorporated areas north of Edmonds and Lynnwood and northeast of Lynnwood, all of Mukilteo, and part of south Everett.
Because the bill already had passed the Senate and was not amended in the House, it now goes to Gov. Jay Inslee to be signed into law.
Evan Smith can be reached at schsmith@frontier.com.
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