Ep. 96 - Troy Holaday: 52,000 Degrees Were Already Earned. They Just Hadn't Been Found.

Transfer credit is one of higher ed's most persistent headaches. Students lose credits, take longer to graduate, and navigate a labyrinth of institutional policies that often feel designed to frustrate rather than help. But according to Troy Holaday, president of CollegeSource, the narrative that "transfer is broken" is outdated—and it's getting in the way of real progress. In this episode, host Jeff Dillon sits down with Troy, a former academic advisor and professor who spent 16 years inside Ball State University before leading one of the most widely used transfer technology platforms in the country. Troy brings a rare perspective: he's been the advisor sitting across from students, the faculty member designing curriculum, and the technologist building systems to make transfer work. Troy challenges the conventional wisdom that transfer is a disaster, pointing to recent data showing that most students now have their credits evaluated automatically and are largely satisfied with the process. He argues that the real problem isn't broken systems—it's that we're not telling the right stories. Instead of fixating on horror stories, we should be studying and scaling best practices. The conversation covers CollegeSource's suite of products and how they work together to mirror the transfer journey. Troy also shares the story of Louisiana's statewide expansion of TES across all public institutions, and the remarkable "degree discovery" work that has helped institutions award more than 200,000 degrees to students who had stopped out. For any enrollment leader, registrar, advisor, or policymaker trying to make transfer work better, this episode offers a grounded, evidence-informed perspective on what's already working—and where technology can actually move the needle. Key Takeaways Transfer Is Normal—Not an Oddity: An overwhelming majority of students now earn credit from more than one institution. Transfer should be treated as a standard part of the educational journey, not a disruption or a problem to be solved.  The "Transfer Is Broken" Narrative Is Outdated: Much of the alarming data about credit loss comes from studies looking at transcripts from 2004–2009. More recent research shows that most students have their credits evaluated automatically and are largely satisfied with the process. Horror stories are real, but they don't represent the whole picture.  Earlier Planning Is Critical: Students who can see how their credits will apply before they transfer are more likely to make informed decisions and avoid taking courses that won't count. Transparency builds confidence and reduces wasted time and money.  The Louisiana Statewide Initiative Is a Model for Collaboration: Getting 28+ institutions to work together on transfer is no small feat. Louisiana's expansion of TES creates a unified public-facing portal for transfer students and signals that the state is serious about serving transfer students well.  Degree Discovery Is Transformative: College Source's degree discovery work—running millions of audits to identify students who have earned enough credits for a degree—has helped institutions award more than 200,000 degrees to stop-outs. Ivy Tech alone increased degree output by 20,000, forcing the state to reformulate its funding model based on completion rates.  Policy and Technology Both Matter: Technology can make a good process better, but it can't fix broken policies. Institutions need clear vision, good champions, and grassroots people in the trenches who will actually use the tools available to them.  Change the Stories We Tell: Chapters (00:00:00) - Transfer Is Broken: The Fix isn't in(00:02:07) - Teaching and Building Academic Systems at College Source(00:05:52) - Transfer Credit: Hard to Solve(00:10:37) - TransferOmni and the degree-planner system(00:17:21) - Louisiana's Transfer Student Visibility(00:21:50) - TESS: The Transfer Credit Evaluation System(00:24:35) - College Source: Serving 2,000+ Institutions(00:27:15) - Transfer Credit: AI in the College Field(00:30:59) - Transfer Credit: The Need to Change the Story(00:33:29) - The Signal: Higher Ed Tech Insights