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

Transcription

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

2 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

3 How does your institution define a transfer student?

4 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

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

6 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).

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

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

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

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

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

12 Campus collaborations Admissions Visits to Southeast Community College Weekly-Admissions Once each semester-unl Advisers How to Transfer Days

13 Campus collaborations General Studies Transferology Credit Evaluation

14 Campus collaborations New Student Enrollment Transfer New Student Enrollment (2013)

15 Campus collaborations Housing Transfer Learning Community (Fall 2013)

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

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

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

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

20 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

21 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

22 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

23 Assessment Transfer Advantage Transfer Peer Mentor Program Retention Data

24 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?

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

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

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

28 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.

29 First-Year Experience & Transition Programs Love South 127 success.unl.edu Cheryl Pflueger Academic Success Coach Samantha Greenberg Student Outreach Coordinator Heather Stalling Director

30 References Enhancing transfer student success: The transfer seminar (2012). Teacher-Scholar. Retrieved from: 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 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 Pascarella, E. T & Terenzini, P. T. (2005). How college affects students (Vol 2). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

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