New Company Helps Community College Students Study Abroad

"The answer was always a disheartening 'It can't be done. There's not really a pathway. It can be complicated,' she said. In her work, Warmington said she heard frequently from students who had already started college that they wanted to study in Scotland. But there was no infrastructure for accepting transfers at the universities."

"A new venture, the Transfer Abroad Network, aims to change that by working with international universities to create pathways for U.S. students-especially community college graduates-to transfer abroad. The goal is both to help community college students access exciting global education experiences and to give institutions across the world access to an untapped market of American students."

"The reasons it's difficult to transfer abroad are multifold; for one, outside of the U.S., transferring between institutions of higher learning isn't a common practice, TAN's founders said. In addition, degree structures differ from country to country. Many international institutions don't require general education courses and instead focus exclusively on major requirements."

Transfer Abroad Network (TAN) is a new venture designed to facilitate transfers for U.S. students, particularly community college graduates, to international universities. Co-founders Ashley Warmington and Emma Schwartz Lara, both experienced in international education, identified a significant gap: while many students wanted to study abroad after starting college, no infrastructure existed to support transfers at international institutions. The venture aims to create pathways with universities worldwide, benefiting both American students seeking global education experiences and international institutions accessing an untapped market. Transferring abroad has been complicated due to differences in degree structures, the rarity of transfer practices outside the U.S., and varying general education requirements across countries.

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