Students who transfer from Washtenaw Community College to the University of Michigan can now use their U-M credits toward degrees from both schools.

The two schools recently agreed to a reverse transfer policy, which allows students to transfer U-M credits back to WCC for the purpose of obtaining a degree or certification.

The agreement applies to WCC students who transfer to U-M within 15 credits of obtaining an associate degree.

The agreement benefits "hundreds of currently enrolled U-M students," according to Lester Monts, a U-M vice provost.

More students transfer to U-M from WCC than any other two- or four-year institution in the country, according to U-M figures.

This fall 100 students transferred to U-M from WCC, compared to 129 in 2011 and 124 in 2002. Overall, 377 students transferred to U-M from community colleges this fall. That's down from the 422 community college transfers U-M enrolled in 2002.

Overall, 905 students transferred into U-M this year, according to U-M figures requested by AnnArbor.com.

WCC and U-M have a program, called M-POD, that offers guidance to potential transfer students and streamlines the process for qualified students looking to switch schools. WCC students who want to transfer to U-M must have a minimum 3.0 GPA, and for the school's most competitive programs, such as business and engineering, GPAs must be in the 3.4 and 3.5 range.

Eastern Michigan University established a similar program with WCC this year, which was announced in September. That program also allows transfer students to achieve their WCC associate degree with a mix of credits earned at the community college and EMU.

Of the 7,937 students who transferred from community colleges and enrolled at EMU this fall, 2,485 are from WCC.

"If a student is not able to complete their bachelor's degree for some reason, obtaining the associate degree credential becomes even more critical," Patricia Cygnar, director of community college relations at EMU, said in September.

Both agreements were signed after a new state law went into effect requiring all public universities to have at least three reverse transfer agreements in place by January 2013.

Kellie Woodhouse covers higher education for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at kelliewoodhouse@annarbor.com or 734-623-4602 and follow her on twitter.