William Jewell College’s True Transfer program is aiming to ease the transition for transfer students that have obtained associate degrees from local Kansas City metro community colleges. The program – added this past academic year – is designed for students trying to finish the last two years of the collegiate education experience.

Jewell’s official webpage for True Transfer states the program’s guiding ethos: “William Jewell believes your tuition investment should align with the work you want to do after college. No haggling, no need to maintain a scholarship, and no worry that your investment is worthwhile.”

“Transferring to Jewell is made simple with True Transfer and you’ll earn your bachelor’s degree in two years, guaranteed. Jewell has offered a 4-year graduation guarantee for over a decade. Using that same mindset, professors built pathways to leverage credits already earned without [compromising] the core outcomes of The Critical Thinking College. Four semesters is all it takes, regardless of the program you choose, guaranteed. Find your program… and see the class guides for your two years at Jewell,” continues the True Transfer webpage.

While the program is in its beginning stages, it offers eligibility for students with associate degrees from Metropolitan Community College of Kansas City (MCC), Johnson County Community College (JCCC) or Kansas City Kansas Community College (KCKCC). The program offers eight different majors, including communication, history, English, nonprofit leadership, psychological science, accounting, business administration and economics.

The program description and breakdown by Jewell’s admission team is presented in bold on the website, stating the student’s ability to “leverage credits already earned without compromising the core outcomes of The Critical Thinking College,” as said in Jewell’s description of True Transfer. 

Students can identify the specific courses required to complete each specific degree, given the community college they attended, on the True Transfer webpage. The breakdown provides a full course schedule required for completing their degree in exactly two years.

The program is in line with an overall push to increase the student population at the College. This push includes Jewell’s hiring of William Palmer, director of student recruitment, and Gina Mumpower-Turner, assistant director of admission, so far in 2020.

The current prices listed for annual tuition range from $15,000-$17,500, depending on the major. Please refer to the True Transfer webpage for more information.

Dodd is a defensive back from Texas and aspires to teach and be a football coach. When asked about his decision to change schools, he said he didn’t like his old college location.

“I just found a fit here, and I really liked, liked the people and thought it was a good fit for me,” he said.

He found Jewell while still in high school.

“I had been talking to coaches when I was in high school about coming to play, and I talked to my friends about coming to play here. But I didn’t really get recruited then, and I didn’t really think about them when I first came out of high school. But when I first decided to transfer I got in touch with the coaches, and it worked out pretty well,” said Dodd. 

Dodd is already excited about his new team’s potential.

“The team I played on was really good. I can already tell that I really like the guys, and I wouldn’t say there’s much of a difference, the athletes are really good people, we should be really good, honestly. We should be able to surprise some people this year.  I’m excited about it,” he said.

About the differences of colleges overall, he spoke about routine and how he prefers Jewell’s location.

“We wake up really early in the morning, like 5:30 a.m./6:00 a.m. everyday, that’s different, but you get used to it after a couple of weeks,” said Dodd.

“My old school was pretty much in the middle of nowhere, this school is right outside of Kansas City which I just love it. I really love the location and the stuff there is to do,” he said.

Another big change for Dodd is the academic environment.

“I’d probably say that juggling academics, since the school is really high academically and it’s really challenging, it’s awesome and I love it. And balance that with being social and having friends, you can’t just be doing school work all the time. That part is challenging, but I like it,” he said.

He also said he doesn’t miss much form Northwestern College.

“I transferred for a reason,and this is actually closer to home for me, it’s not that much closer, but it’s closer. My parents can come see me play a little bit more, which is nice. I have no regrets so far.”

We ended the interview with these last words.

“I’m really glad to be here, and I’m really loving it so far, and I’m really excited to spend the next couple years here.”

William Jewell College is Phelps’s third college. The main reasons he came here is the social environment and the coaching staff. Phelps is a receiver who has experience playing at the Division I and Junior College level of football, and looks to bring this experience into the Jewell system. 

“[Jewell] has a bigger campus and better students,” he said. “I haven’t really got to know the team, we just do workouts. But I feel like they are great players. And they gave me a warm welcome to the team. Like, certain players called me and texted to make sure everything was good, when I first got here.”

Not everything is ideal on the hill for Phelps, he said his only problems during his transition are “the cold weather, and being away from home.”

Photo by Mykala Crews.