New rule makes it easier for transfer students to graduate with distinction

After transferring to Purdue University Fort Wayne from Ivy Tech with an associate degree, Julie Fowler, B.S. ’23, thrived as a business major, graduating with a 4.0 grade point average. Even with her stellar academic record, Fowler was not eligible to graduate with distinction because she had not earned the required 65 credits while at PFW.

Fowler’s experience inspired Buck Jordan, director of the Doermer School of Business Student Success and Advising Center, to begin posing questions as a member of the university’s transfer advisory group, which has been working together since 2022. Under university rules, many transfer students from two-year institutions had difficulty reaching the 65-credit criterion at PFW to graduate with distinction in any program, including those offered through DSB.

“Some of our hardest-working students were systematically left out of their only chance of recognition at commencement, even after accomplishing the one thing they set out to do: graduate while they did the best possible job,” Jordan said.

With help from transfer advisory group members Beth Carlin, associate director of transfer and adult students; Andrew Kopec, associate professor of English; and Terri Swim, associate vice chancellor for academic programs; a motion was introduced to the Faculty Senate. Swim said the group talked about the situation for two meetings before the measure was proposed to the senate for a spring semester vote.

Now that rule has been changed. The 2024-25 academic catalog under sections 10.4-10.4.3 says “A candidate for the bachelor’s degree with distinction must have a minimum of 60 resident credits included in the computation of the cumulative GPA.”

According to the Office of Institutional Research and Analysis, PFW has enrolled 1,681 transfer students over the past five years. Carlin said there are currently 120 more transfer applicants this fall than there were last year at this time.

Starting with the 2024-25 academic calendar, the so-called “Julie Fowler rule” takes effect. After graduating with a marketing major, Fowler now works at Elevatus Architecture as a marketing proposal coordinator.