DegreeSight unveils a new brand built on Credit Transparency™, as partners report up to 30 percent transfer enrollment growth.
This fall, enrollment leaders are planning for a harder 2027. Freshman pools are shrinking. Discount rates keep climbing. And new federal rules are about to put credit decisions under a spotlight.
That is why DegreeSight rebuilt its brand and website around one principle. Credits determine whether transfer enrollment succeeds or fails.
“Students deserve to know how their credits count before they enroll, and institutions need the systems and expertise to tell them,” said David Cook, CEO and Founder of DegreeSight.
The freshman pipeline is shrinking
U.S. high school graduates peaked in 2025. The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education projects a 13 percent decline through 2041.
Colleges are responding by widening the funnel. They now recruit more transfer students, adult learners, military-connected students, and athletes.
Many of those students already have college credit. About 2.8 million high school students took college courses in 2023-24. That is a 12.7 percent jump in one year, according to the Community College Research Center.
Where students get lost
Having credit is not the problem. Getting an answer about it is.
Students often wait weeks for a transcript decision. Meanwhile, other schools respond faster. Students tend to enroll where they hear back first.
The cost of a slow or unclear answer is real. The U.S. Government Accountability Office found that students who transferred between 2004 and 2009 lost an average of 43 percent of their credits.
“The credit decision sits between prospect recruitment and student management, and that is where students get lost,” Cook said.
New federal transfer rules are coming
On August 20, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education proposed new accreditation rules. Institutions would need to:
- Presume comparable credit transfers for undergraduate coursework
- Explain denials in writing to students
- Offer students an appeal process when credit is denied
For many registrar offices, these changes would add work to a process that is already stretched. For institutions that answer quickly and clearly, they are a chance to stand out.
How DegreeSight closes the gap
DegreeSight reads transcripts, matches credits, and syncs answers to the systems institutions already use. That includes Banner, Colleague, PeopleSoft, Jenzabar, Slate, Salesforce, and HubSpot.
Students get answers in seconds instead of weeks. Registrars keep full authority over every academic decision.
What partners are seeing
Institutions that make credit decisions faster and clearer are growing transfer enrollment:
- Oklahoma Christian University: 30 percent transfer enrollment growth over 17 months
- Roosevelt University: 20 percent transfer enrollment growth
- Rogers State University: 20 percent transfer enrollment growth
- Ursinus College: doubled transfer deposits in its first year
- Malone University: 30 percent transfer deposit growth
- Indiana Wesleyan University: 65 percent yield among incoming freshmen who used DegreeSight
- UMass Amherst: more than 850,000 course equivalencies built
Recent partners include St. Cloud State University, Ursinus College, Bethel University, and Lee University. DegreeSight is also the Official Credit Evaluation Platform of the NAIA, serving its 250 member institutions.
“Enrollment goals and student outcomes are the same problem,” said Drew Melendres, Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer. “A lost credit can add a year to a degree, costing students far more than tuition.”
See how transfer friendly your institution is today
Before you set 2027 transfer goals, find out what students experience when they ask about their credits. How long do they wait? How clear is the answer? Where do they drop off?
A Transfer Friendliness Assessment shows you where your process wins students and where it loses them.