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Petrie Foundation Awards Lehman $300,000 to Improve Student Transfer Process
August 3, 2026
Lehman College has received a $300,000 grant from the Petrie Foundation to launch the Automatic Transfer Admission Guarantee, a two-year pilot designed to improve transfer outcomes for community college students pursuing bachelor’s degrees.
Developed in partnership with Hostos, Bronx, and Guttman Community Colleges, the new system known as ATAG will replace the traditional student-led application process with a proactive admissions model. Eligible associate degree graduates will be identified through institutional data and invited to opt into automatic admission at Lehman.
It is designed to address barriers including complicated applications, delayed admissions decisions, unclear credit transfers, and disconnected advising systems.
Students will receive early transfer credit evaluations and dedicated advising to help them select a major and support their transfer throughout their first year at Lehman. The program also aims to shorten the time between admission and registration to approximately two weeks.
Transfer students make up approximately 60% of Lehman’s student population. The pilot, which will serve about 1,725 students annually across the four campuses, will examine whether automatic admission and earlier support can increase transfer enrollment, retention, GPA, credit completion, and progress toward a bachelor’s degree.