Making a Smooth Transition as a Transfer Student First-Year - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Making a Smooth Transition as a Transfer Student First-Year Experience & Transition Programs

Presenters • Cheryl Pflueger – Academic Success Coach – Instructor for the Transfer Advantage Course – Staff Adviser for the Transfer Learning Community – Co-Supervisor for the Transfer Peer Mentors • Samantha Greenberg – Graduate Assistant – Face behind Facebook – Co-Supervisor for the Transfer Peer Mentors

How does your institution define a transfer student?

A little about UNL (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) • Student population: 25,006 • Number of colleges: 8 • Number of new transfers: 914 for Fall 2014 • Percentage of transfer students: about 17% • Most transfers come from Southeast Community College in Lincoln • Population of Lincoln, NE: 260,000

UNL definition of a transfer student • Student who is beginning at UNL for the first time but previously attended a postsecondary institution.

Why the renewed interest in transfers • Assumption that they have “already done college” and therefore do not need assistance is flawed (Normyle, 2014). • More than one-third of all undergraduates are transfers (Normyle, 2014). • Transfer student population is projected to become even larger and more significant to American higher education (Teacher-Scholar, 2012) .

Why the renewed interest at UNL • Campus Blueprint (2012). • Campus-wide efforts support recruitment, engagement, student success, retention, and graduation of transfer students.

What are the needs of transfer students • Specific requests for assistance in – Academics – Advising – Career Planning – Finances (Normyle, 2014)

What are the needs of UNL transfers • Orientation to campus resources • Campus policies • Campus events • Student organizations • Social connections • Orientation to Lincoln

Schlossberg’s Transition Theory • Defined: any event or non-event that results in changed relationships, routines, assumptions and roles (Goodman et al., 2006).

Schlossberg’s Transition Theory • The 4 S’s -Situation -Self -Support -Strategies (Goodman et al., 2006)

Campus collaborations • Admissions – Visits to Southeast Community College • Weekly-Admissions • Once each semester-UNL Advisers – How to Transfer Days

Campus collaborations • General Studies – Transferology – Credit Evaluation

Campus collaborations • New Student Enrollment – Transfer New Student Enrollment (2013)

Campus collaborations • Housing – Transfer Learning Community (Fall 2013)

Campus collaborations • First-Year Experience & Transition Programs, General Studies, Library, Lied Center, and University Health Center – Transfer Welcome (Fall 2013)

Campus collaborations • First-Year Experience & Transition Programs – Transfer Peer Mentors (January 2013) • Academic Programming • Social Programming (variety of days/times) • Email contacts

Campus collaborations • First-Year Experience & Transition Programs – Transfer Advantage Class (Fall 2013)

Colleges and Programs • Engineering Transfer Class • Arts & Sciences Transfer Assistance • College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Transfer Support • William H. Thompson Scholars

Staying connected • College involvement exerts significant and positive influence on student academic success (Pascarella and Terenzini, 2005). – Transfer Student Services Facebook Page – Transfer Peer Mentors – Transfer Connection – Email

Recognition • Tau Sigma Chapter at UNL Mission: “Tau Sigma is an academic honor society designed specifically to recognize and promote the academic excellence and involvement of transfer students”

High Impact Practices (Kuh, 2008) • First-Year Seminars/Experiences* • Common Intellectual Experiences • Learning Communities* • Writing-Intensive Courses • Collaborative Assignments/Projects* • Undergraduate Research* • Diversity/Global Learning* • Service Learning* • Internships* • Capstone Courses/Projects

Assessment • Transfer Advantage • Transfer Peer Mentor Program • Retention Data

Discussion Questions • One article from Griffin, Schmitz, and Phare (2014), suggested having a common office for non-traditional, transfer, and veteran students. • Does anyone have this? • What do you think of the idea?

Discussion Questions • High tech vs. High touch transfer orientation • Pros • Cons • Offer both?

Discussion Questions • Scholarship opportunities for transfers – Scholarships and Financial Aid – Colleges (Arts & Sciences) – Departments

Dreams • What are some dreams you have for the programs and services on your campus as it relates to transfer students?

Conclusion • It appears that students transferring to and between institutions is a trend that will continue in the future. • Creating and having programs that provide support and strategies for transfer students is a win-win situation for both the student and the institution.

First-Year Experience & Transition Programs • Love South 127 • success.unl.edu Cheryl Pflueger Heather Stalling Samantha Greenberg Academic Success Coach Director Student Outreach Coordinator cpflueger3@unl.edu Heather.stalling@unl.edu Fye-sgreenberg@unl.edu 402-472-1880 402-472-4826 402-472-1832

References Enhancing transfer student success: The transfer seminar (2012). Teacher-Scholar. Retrieved from: http://www.fhsu.edu/teacher- scholar/current/volume4/enhancing_transfer/page1.html Enrollment Management Council (2012) Campus Blueprint . University of Nebraska- Lincoln. Retrieved from go.unl.edu/campusblueprint Goodman, J., Schlossber, N. K., & Anderson, M. L. (2006). Counseling adults in transition (3 rd ed.) New York: Springer. Griffin, C. A., Schmitz, D. & Phare, C. (2014, June 25) Consolidating services for transfer, adult, and veteran students – and doing it well. Academic Impressions . Retrieved from http://www.academic impressions.com/news/consolidating- services-transfer-adult-and-veteran-students-and-doing-it-well Kuh, G. D. (2008). High-Impact Educational Practices. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities. Normyle, M. (2014, April 24) What the latest research tells us about serving college transfer students. Retrieved from http://blog.noellevitz.com/2014/04/24/latest- research-tells-us-serving-college-transfer-students/ Pascarella, E. T & Terenzini, P. T. (2005). How college affects students (Vol 2). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

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