‘Seamless’ transfers expanded between KCTCS, WKU
Published 6:00 am Sunday, March 2, 2025
Kentucky Community and Technical College System President Ryan Quarles (right) and Western Kentucky University President Timothy Caboni (left) sit down to sign an agreement between KYCTC and WKU to help more students across Kentucky easily transfer to WKU and earn four-year degrees on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at the Downing Student Union. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Western Kentucky University President Timothy Caboni (right) and Kentucky Community and Technical College System President Ryan Quarles (left) tour the Transfer Center in the Downing Student Union after signing an agreement between KYCTC and WKU to help more students across Kentucky easily transfer to WKU and earn four-year degrees on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Western Kentucky University President Timothy Caboni (right), Christopher Jensen of the WKU Advising and Career Development Center (center) and Kentucky Community and Technical College System President Ryan Quarles (left) tour the Transfer Center in the Downing Student Union after signing an agreement between KYCTC and WKU to help more students across Kentucky easily transfer to WKU and earn four-year degrees on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Kentucky Community and Technical College System President Ryan Quarles (left) and Western Kentucky University President Timothy Caboni (right) tour the Transfer Center area in the Downing Student Union after signing an agreement between KYCTC and WKU to help more students across Kentucky easily transfer to WKU and earn four-year degrees on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
SKYCTC Interim President Brooke Justice speaks at a ceremony to officially sign an agreement between the Kentucky Community and Technical College System and Western Kentucky University to help more students across Kentucky easily transfer to WKU and earn four-year degrees on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at the Downing Student Union. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Kentucky Community and Technical College System President Ryan Quarles speaks at a ceremony to officially sign an agreement between KYCTC and Western Kentucky University to help more students across Kentucky easily transfer to WKU and earn four-year degrees on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at the Downing Student Union. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Western Kentucky University President Timothy Caboni speaks at a ceremony to officially sign an agreement between the Kentucky Community and Technical College System and WKU to help more students across Kentucky easily transfer to WKU and earn four-year degrees on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at the Downing Student Union. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Christopher Jensen of the WKU Advising and Career Development Center speaks at a ceremony to officially sign an agreement between the Kentucky Community and Technical College System and Western Kentucky University to help more students across Kentucky easily transfer to WKU and earn four-year degrees on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at the Downing Student Union. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Kentucky Community and Technical College System President Ryan Quarles (center) chats with Western Kentucky University President Timothy Caboni (right) and SKYCTC Interim President Brooke Justice (left) before the start of a ceremony to officially sign an agreement between KYCTC and WKU to help more students across Kentucky easily transfer to WKU and earn four-year degrees on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at the Downing Student Union. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Kentucky Community and Technical College System President Ryan Quarles (left) and Western Kentucky University President Timothy Caboni (right) tour the Transfer Center in the Downing Student Union after signing an agreement between KYCTC and WKU to help more students across Kentucky easily transfer to WKU and earn four-year degrees on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Western Kentucky University President Timothy Caboni (left), Kentucky Community and Technical College System President Ryan Quarles (center) and Christopher Jensen of the WKU Advising and Career Development Center (right) tour the Transfer Center area in the Downing Student Union after signing an agreement between KYCTC and WKU to help more students across Kentucky easily transfer to WKU and earn four-year degrees on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Kentucky Community and Technical College System President Ryan Quarles (right) and Western Kentucky University President Timothy Caboni (left) sit down to sign an agreement between KYCTC and WKU to help more students across Kentucky easily transfer to WKU and earn four-year degrees on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at the Downing Student Union. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
SKYCTC graduate and current WKU electrical engineering student Samuel Favela speaks at a ceremony to officially sign an agreement between the Kentucky Community and Technical College System and Western Kentucky University to help more students across Kentucky easily transfer to WKU and earn four-year degrees on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at the Downing Student Union. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Kentucky Community and Technical College System President Ryan Quarles speaks at a ceremony to officially sign an agreement between KYCTC and Western Kentucky University to help more students across Kentucky easily transfer to WKU and earn four-year degrees on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at the Downing Student Union. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Western Kentucky University President Timothy Caboni speaks at a ceremony to officially sign an agreement between the Kentucky Community and Technical College System and WKU to help more students across Kentucky easily transfer to WKU and earn four-year degrees on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at the Downing Student Union. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
BY DAVID MAMARIL HOROWITZ
david.horowitz@bgdailynews.com
A simple and easy process for transferring schools proved to be key to making Western Kentucky University more accessible for community college graduate Samuel Favela.
The WKU freshman, a Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College graduate, recalled two professors facilitating the process for students, additionally enabling them to get transfer and application fees waived.
“It made it a lot easier — took a lot of the guesswork out,” he said. And now, pursuing a bachelor’s in electrical engineering, he aims to move up within the company he’s worked at for six years.
Favela described his experience Thursday at a news conference for a signing agreement between WKU and Kentucky Community & Technical College System — a new collaboration that enables what the two organizations describe as a seamless transfer process for all students headed from KCTCS to WKU. This expands on the previous collaborations between the two entities — where a handful of agreements between WKU and individual KCTCS colleges would allow seamless transfers from certain community colleges, such as SKyCTC.
More than 1,300 students transfer to WKU annually — most, from KCTCS, WKU President Timothy Caboni said.
The agreement simplifies the entire transfer process, according to Caboni — applying to documentation and resources such as scholarships. For example, KCTCS transfer students can now access numerous support services and up to $4,000 in automatic transfer scholarships through the WKU Transfer Center, according to the university.
“This just sends a message that no matter which community college you’re attending in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, WKU is a landing place for you to finish your four-year degree,” Caboni said. “It makes it a seamless process. It’s really easily understood by students who want to transfer. It means all their credits are going to transfer. It means they know what their curriculum looks like when they cross the street or across the state to come to WKU. It ensures that they can do financial planning based upon the financial aid we’re going to offer them.”
The effort, which began in 2021, entailed a comprehensive review of the transfer process carried out in collaboration with the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education and heads of the National Association of Higher Education Systems.
“Today’s agreement is another clear signal that it doesn’t matter which county you’re from in Kentucky — you too can be a Topper as well,” KCTCS President Ryan Quarles said.
