Central Washington University and Yakima Valley College entered into a new partnership last week when the presidents of both institutions signed a memorandum of understanding to enact the Seamless Transfer Pathway Program, according to a June 3 announcement.
The program was developed by representatives from both universities to provide transfer students with a clear, streamlined pathway that will help them complete a bachelor’s degree. CWU President Jim Wohlpart and YVC President Teresa Rich were joined by executives, board members, and enrollment management representatives on May 26 at the Kaminski Conference Center in Yakima for a signing ceremony and workshop to officially begin the partnership.
Wohlpart said that the goal of the agreement is to increase college attendance by eliminating barriers that hinder access to higher education. “This is about putting students first,” he said. “This is about being student-centric and not being about competition or thinking about who gets those students. This is really about their journey and their family’s journey and their community’s journey.”
The Seamless Transfer Pathway Program aims to make transferring from YVC to CWU similar to moving from middle school to high school. Students will submit a simple request at YVC, which will initiate their CWU admission application, with transcripts automatically transmitted. The program also includes an application fee waiver, guaranteed admission for most CWU majors, and dual-institution four-year plans for popular majors.
Rich said the initiative could influence how other regional higher education institutions approach recruitment: “This initiative is monumental for our two institutions because people are looking at us in the Yakima Valley and in the central Washington region,” she said. “We are setting the stage, and they want to see how we’re doing it because everybody wants to be like us. And we are knocking it out of the park.”
Wohlpart added that this vision extends beyond just these two schools: “Institutions build structures and systems that seem to make sense, and when we dig into them, we realize that, in fact, they don’t make much sense for a lot of our students,” Wohlpart said, emphasizing changing institutional culture as key for supporting new students.
The memorandum marks the second agreement between CWU and YVC within two years; an earlier MOU partnered with Yakima School District in fall 2024 aimed at improving postsecondary credential access for K-12 students.
