Citrus College Honors Transfer program provides opportunities

By Laura J. Bollinger, Citrus College Governing Board Member

Many students enroll in community colleges with the goal of earning their associate degree and transferring to a four-year college or university. Thankfully, Citrus College is home to an incredible number of resources designed to help these students reach their long-term academic, professional and personal goals.

One such resource is the Citrus College Honors Transfer program. Led by Jennifer Miller-Thayer, Ph.D., the program offers several benefits, including priority registration, small class sizes and special recognition at commencement. In addition, students in the program have enhanced scholarship opportunities and the chance to participate in honors conferences and seminars.

Over the years, students who completed the honors transfer program have gone on to attend a variety of four-year colleges and universities, including Yale University; the University of Southern California; the University of California, Berkeley; California State University, Long Beach; California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

To become part of the program, students must apply and submit an essay, transcripts and a letter of recommendation. Once admitted, they must adhere to a series of requirements, such as maintaining a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA.

About 125 students are currently in the honors transfer program. Many of them are enrolled in honors courses, including ANTH 210H Intro to Cultural Anthropology, POLI 103H American Government and Politics, and THEA101H Intro to Theatre Arts. These honors courses are often smaller in size than general courses and feature more discussion, presentations and research opportunities.

"Many students have the misperception that honors courses are harder than the non-honors classes, but that is not the case," said Dr. Miller-Thayer. "They are challenging, yes; but they are meant to help the students build their skills and go deeper into the topics so that they are more prepared when they transfer and work in their chosen field. The faculty work closely with the students to support them in their learning goals."

The honors transfer program also helps students transfer to a number of prestigious four-year institutions.

One example is the program's membership in the UCLA Transfer Alliance Program (TAP), which gives students from more than 50 California community colleges an opportunity to increase their ability to transfer to UCLA. For a Citrus College student to be TAP eligible, they must complete 15 units of honors courses and 30 hours of service learning by the end of their last spring semester.

So far, the program has been highly beneficial to Citrus College honors students.

In 2021, the admission rate to UCLA was 81% for Citrus College TAP students and 11% for non-TAP students. In 2022, the numbers rose to 83% and 18.5%, respectively.

"It is not a guarantee of admission and some majors are restricted, but TAP greatly increases a students' chance of getting accepted to UCLA," said Eileen Sin, an honors transfer program counselor.

Veronica Rincon-Zarazua, an honors transfer student who graduated from Citrus College in June 2022, was a TAP-certified student. She is now studying political science at UCLA.

"For me, the program was a game-changer," Ms. Rincon-Zarazua said. "It transformed me from an aimless student into a student with a clear route to success. The program and the instructors really care about your success, and they demonstrate this through the support they provide. I credit the whole of my success at Citrus College and in college applications to the program."