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
Cheryl Pflueger
Academic Success Coach
[email protected]
402-472-4826
• success.unl.edu
Samantha Greenberg
Student Outreach Coordinator
[email protected]
402-472-1832
Heather Stalling
Director
[email protected]
402-472-1880
References
Enhancing transfer student success: The transfer seminar (2012). Teacher-Scholar.
Retrieved from: http://www.fhsu.edu/teacherscholar/current/volume4/enhancing_transfer/page1.html
Enrollment Management Council (2012) Campus Blueprint. University of NebraskaLincoln. Retrieved from go.unl.edu/campusblueprint
Goodman, J., Schlossber, N. K., & Anderson, M. L. (2006). Counseling adults in
transition (3rd 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/consolidatingservices-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/latestresearch-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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