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Creating a Transfer Inclusive Environment

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Presenters

Daniel Barkley

Program Manager

Danbark@uw.edu

LeAnne Jones Wiles

Director

ljwiles@uw.edu

Dr. Brett Bruner

Dean

bbruner@atu.edu

First Year Programs - Undergraduate Academic Affairs

University of Washington

Student Engagement

Arkansas Tech University

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Session Goals

Define transfer student engagement for your program.
Understand the specific needs of transfer students at a national level.
Identify at least one new campus strategy to engage transfer students in transition post-orientation.
Assess your campus readiness and create an action plan to engage transfer students beyond orientation.

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Plan for Today

Institutional Context

Landscape Analysis

Promising Practices

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Reflection

Identify A Time That You Felt Like An Outsider

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Institutional Context

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University of Washington

Large, 4-year Public Institution�

8,900 New Students/1,500 Transfers Fall

Research Intensive�

Innovation Mindset�

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Transfer Students by the Numbers�

80% from WA Community Colleges

Bellevue College
Seattle Central College
North Seattle College
Shoreline College

20% from other institutions
12.5% International students
Many cannot go directly into major.
Traditional Age (18% 24-27; 60% 20-23)

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Arkansas Tech University

Mid-sized, regional, state comprehensive university

2 campuses - Russellville & Ozark, AR

1757 new first-year students/562 new transfer students

Student Success, Access, and Excellence

BB

Arkansas Tech University started in 1909 as a humble school enabling rural kids to gain a high school diploma and learn better agricultural practices. In the 110 years since then we’ve evolved into a dynamic center of higher learning in the heart of the Arkansas River Valley.

VISION STATEMENT

Adopted October 19, 2016

Arkansas Tech University: where students succeed, innovation thrives, and communities flourish.

OUR MISSION

Adopted October 19, 2016

Arkansas Tech University is dedicated to student success, access, and excellence as a responsive campus community providing opportunities for progressive intellectual development and civic engagement. Embracing and expanding upon its technological traditions, Tech inspires and empowers members of the community to achieve their goals while striving for the betterment of Arkansas, the nation, and the world.

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Fort Hays State University

Mid-sized, regional, state comprehensive university

3 modalities - on-campus, virtual, and international partnerships

950 new first-year students/400 new transfer students

Kansas Board of Regents - Foresight 2020 Plan

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National Transfer Landscape*

50,000+

Transfer-ready community college students with above a 3.0 GPA do not transfer to any four-year public or not-for profit institutions

88%

Indicate that financial aid was an important decision in applying. 58% experience financial difficulty after transfering

32%

Of all new fall enrollments from 2014-2016 were classified as transfer students across all four-year institutions

*ATI: The Talent Blind Spot

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Why Does This Matter?

“Our efforts to ease the transition for transfer students matter because community colleges are a crucial pipeline for low-income and underrepresented students seek a four-year degree.”

~Ana Mari Cauce, 3/7/18

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Challenges Transfers Face

Unclear Academic Pathway
Imposter Syndrome
Difficult to Navigate Resources
Absence of Community
Time to Graduation

The Odyssey

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Campus Specific Assessment

Campus Survey through IT Research Group

2100 students - 23% response rate

Divider Questions - Not Connected to the UW

Describe your experience (58% good/great)
Found community (31% no; 41% somewhat)
Thought about leaving uw (33% yes-major)

Isolation - Multiple Touchpoints� Institutional Knowledge

LJW

read about transfers, talked to students and did a survey �- survey – august 2017,2124 students and got a 23% response rate 485 responded �- survey mostly about first quarter experience �Results �- students had trouble trying to figure out TA’s physical landscape, finding friends�- pivotal questions that ended up being great dividers- describe your experience, have you found community, have you thought about leaving uw? �- 33% said exp was good – 25% said great �- found community – 31% no – 41% somewhat ; 18% said yes �- leaving uw – 33% thought about leaving because of major and stress about the major; I felt alone and isolated as a transfer student ; prior to arriving I didn’t know I needed to apply to my major at the UW�- Feeling isolated was a KEY divider if a student felt good about being at the UW�- Themes – common isolation, multiple touchpoints, institutional knowledge, major, difference between CC And UW�Action �- insight statement – the degree of support or isolation transfer perceive �- the more caring people transfer have the more likely they are to get the information they need to succeed�- transfers need a wide body of information about the uw, that is contextualize and delivered at a point in time �- many transfers students don’t understand how they will experience the difference between CC and uw

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Transfer Inclusive Environment�

Environmental Assessment �Rate the following on a scale �1=strongly disagree --- 3 = neutral---- 5= strongly agree

I feel comfortable meeting the needs of the transfer students on my campus.
My department provides pathways and clear communications for transfer students.
My university provides pathways directly into a major upon admission as a transfer student.

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Promising Practices to Engage Transfer Students�

Inclusive Communication
Intentional Transition
Purposeful Representation
Year-Round Engagement �

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Inclusive Communication

Transfer Student Advocate Card
Language and Culture

New Student Convocation vs. Freshman Convocation
Incoming Class of xxxx vs. Class of xxxx
Previous Institution vs. High School

Communicating Class Opportunities (group code)
Print & Web Presence

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Intentional Transition

Focused Engagement

Admissions/Pre-Arrival, Orientation, Welcome Week
Physical Space, Residential Living, Career Centers

Seminar Classes
Transitioning Capital (Martinez, 2018)

BB

Schlossberg’s model is comprehensive but the reality is that the complexity of everyday life for TR students cannot be fully understood just by the standalone model. Martinez developed the notion of Transitioning Capital - “the knowledge & nuanced understandings that TR students gain while undergoing the transition at the receiving institution” (p. 151). TR students use TgC to different degrees depending on their needs & the situation they are trying to navigate. How are WE (as institutions, OTR administrators, etc.) thinking about TgC in our TR environments, programs, events, etc.

Focused Engagement

Admissions/pre-arrival, Orientation, Welcome Week
Physical space (commuter and transfer commons) residential living, career centers

Seminar Classes (identity, peer support, career)
Transitioning Capital (Martinez, 2018)

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Purposeful Representation

Peer Mentorship

Transfer Ambassadors
Transition Student Associates
Mentorship Program

Lighthouse Project Fellowship for Transfer, First-Generation College Students

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Year-Round Engagement

Career Readiness Focus
Schlossberg’s Transition Theory

Transition takes time
Institutions should adapt the type of support provided to better correspond with their phase of transitioning

Lazarowicz’s (2018)

BB

career centers, libraries

Students used words like “confused, overwhelmed, overloaded, and intimidated” when describing the initial phase of transition, specifically from a CC to a 4-year university in the first few days/weeks.

TR students were likely to be in the “moving phase” since they were still adjusting to the new environment, learning the system, and determining how the university worked. The “moving through” period “begins once learners know the ropes” (Anderson, 2012). Few participants felt like they “knew the ropes” and this finding suggests the moving in phase may take more time for TR students than universities realize. Universities often push students to become involved and to take advantage of opps early in the semester before they have “learned the ropes” of the institution and while they are still transitioning into their new educational environments.

Lazarowicz’s (2018) qualitative study for considerations on incorporating
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsedaddiss/216/

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Hiring Techniques For Transfer Students

Consider application timelines. Wait until transfer students are accepted
Offer trainings, regular meetings and info sessions at flexible times and provide make-up opportunities
Allow transfer students to bring their dependents to a meeting and trainings
Consider adding value to previous life and non-traditional experiences when reviewing applications

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Transfer Inclusive Environment�

Individually & In Small Groups�Worksheet:

Organizational Readiness
Personal or Organizational Asset
Transitional Needs of your Students
Action Steps��

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Keep in Touch

15% Solutions

Write your name, phone number, email and 3/1/2019.
One thing you can do in the next month to put your plans into action.

Presentation Online:

fyp.washington.edu/fyeprojects

Exchange your notecard

with someone to follow up in 90 days.

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Resources

UW Specific Examples

Orientation Pre-Module Video
Pre-Admission Video Video
UW Transfer Website - http://transfer.uw.edu
Transfer Advocate Card

Presentation Online:

fyp.washington.edu/fyeprojects