Running head: THEORY TO PRACTICE 1

Theory to Practice

Lizz Giordano

University of North Carolina at Greensboro

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Part 1: Population Description

Transfer students on college campuses are a unique population because they can come

from many different backgrounds and types of institutions. In higher education there are different

classifications of transfers a student can make. The National Association for College Admission

Counseling (2016) states that these types can include a vertical transfer, lateral transfer, and

reverse transfer. A vertical transfer refers to a student who moves from a 2-year institution to a 4-

year institution. This can also be considered a standard or traditional transfer. A lateral transfer

refers to when a student transfers from a 4-year institution to another 4-year institution or when a

student transfers from a 2-year institution to another 2-year institution. A reverse transfer refers

to when a student transfers from a 4-year institution to a 2-year institution or transfers credits

earned at an institution to a 2-year institution to earn an associate degree. When thinking about

transfer students, on one hand they are a new student that the institution hopes will matriculate

and earn a degree, where on the other hand their previous institutions classifies that student as a

student who was not retained or a student that earned an associate degree.

Padilla (1999, p. 134) describes students as being in one of two categories, “There are

only two possible outcomes for each of the entering students. They either successfully complete

some program of study and attain a degree or they depart from the institution prematurely

without completing a degree program.” For transfer students they are labeled as both at times but

at different institutions. According to the UNC Greensboro Office of Admissions (2018), a

transfer student is classified as “having 24 or more college credit hours from a regionally

accredited institution and are eligible to return to the last institution you attended.” It is important

to note that students transfer to UNC Greensboro for many reasons, and it is important to

recognize the amount of transfer students being admitted each semester at the institution. As
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stated by the UNC Greensboro Office of Institutional Research (2018), as of fall 2018 there are

1,503 full-time new transfers to UNC Greensboro and 413 part-time new transfers to UNC

Greensboro totaling 1,916 new transfer students.

Part 2: Potential Barriers

Padilla (1999, p. 135) states “the campus experience can be seen as a black box that

contains many potential barriers whose geography, i.e., organization, pattern, and possible

influence on students, can be potentially understood.” For transfer students there are many

reasons why a student leaves an institution, as stated in the previous section. For example,

students who perform a lateral transfer could be leaving to be closer to family, move away from

family, have demographic differences with the previous institution’s campus climate, or the

institution did not have their desired major.

Barriers for transfer students can also be a students’ micro- and mesosystems; the main

microsystems that effect a student are mainly a job, family, and classes. According to Renn and

Reason (2013, p. 126, para. 3) “Microsystems are the location of direct interactions between the

individual and the environment.” For some students, leaving home and their families can be

challenging; therefore, a student decides to attend at 2-year institution close to home first to earn

their associate degree before transferring to a 4-year institution. This can also mean a student

transfers from a 4-year institution that is away from home back to a 4-year institution closer to

home to be around family whether it be for homesickness or family illness. When it comes to

exo- and macrosystem level factors that impact a student to transfer or have barriers at the new

institution relates mainly to federal financial aid policies, policies around transferring credits, and

social forces.
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A large barrier to transfer students is financial aid and access to resources at the new

institution. For example, at UNC Greensboro transfer students attend a Transfer Student

Orientation session that is one day in length. First-Year students at the university attend at two-

day orientation session where they can meet with their academic advisor, get registered for

classes, and meet many offices on campus. Transfer students attend the one-day orientation but

do not have access to register for classes or meet with an advisor, causing barriers at the

beginning of their journey to a new institution. Transfer students at UNC Greensboro have other

barriers such as not knowing where all the offices are located without the proper information

given to them, having trouble working with the registrar and financial aid to ensure that they can

attend the university, and not feeling a sense of belonging right away on campus. Many transfer

students commute to campus, causing another barrier to be formed which can cause issues for the

students.

When also thinking about theoretical models designed to better understand students,

transfer students are not always in mind. Students within these theories start out as first-year

students, and transfer students tend to get lost in these models. Transfer students also have

unique and different college experiences whether they do a vertical transfer, lateral transfer, or

even a reverse transfer. These theories also do not describe in full what occurs in that “black

box” of time during college where inputs become outputs. Theoretical models also do not

account for the intersectionality of identity to determine if a student who is a transfer student, but

also a parent, and Latinx could impact the student’s development within this context.

Part C: Action to Ameliorate Barriers

At UNC Greensboro student affairs professionals are already acting to assist transfer

students and ameliorate barriers that are in place for these students. For example, Housing and
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Residence Life created a Living Learning Community, Connect, where transfer students live

together, take a class together, and do programming together to foster community and help

transfer students find their place on campus. This micro- and mesosystem can help students form

relationships with the university, staff, and other students in order to feel more comfortable with

their environment. This also helps bridge demographic differences and creates a more inclusive

and welcoming campus environment to help influence the transfer students’ college experience.

Another action Student Affairs Professionals are taking at UNC Greensboro to ameliorate

these barriers is to offer at transfer section of the First-Year Experience course through the New

Student Transitions and First-Year Experience Office. This course is offered to all transfer

students; however, not all transfer students take the course. Within the course barriers like not

having access or knowledge of campus resources is ameliorated because that is a main portion of

the class. Other things built into the course are career development initiatives, understanding

purpose and your why, financial literacy, etc. These topics can greatly impact the college

experience for transfer students and builds community among this population.

One action I think that could be conducted at UNC Greensboro to support transfer

students and ameliorate those barriers is to build out the orientation sessions for those students.

One way this can be done is by creating major or college specific orientation sessions for transfer

students to meet with faculty, academic advisors, career coaches, and other staff that they would

interact with during their time at UNC Greensboro. This would assist students in being more

comfortable finding the resources they need, meeting other students that they most likely will

take classes with, and creating a better campus climate overall. This could also be a good way for

the students to meet with their specific academic advisor during the orientation session because

they would be able to see them while they are there. Another thing that could work is having the
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transfer sessions coincide with the first-year orientation sessions to ensure that advisors and other

staff will be present at these sessions as well.

Additionally, student affairs professionals can work more closely with transfer

admissions counselors to bring transfer students to campus or introduce them to the main offices

they need to be in contact with such as financial aid and the registrar in order to ensure these

students are getting the most out of their experience. One thing I think enrollment management

does poorly with transfer students is forget they exist because they are so focused on retaining

first-year students at the institution they fail to remember the non-traditional, adult, and transfer

population. Student Affairs professionals can also do more programming during the day to

ensure that transfer, adult, and commuter student populations can also feel a connection to the

campus community.

Overall, I feel that UNC Greensboro has good programming and supports in place for

most transfer students; however, if these supports are in place and students are not using the

resources, are they effective. Making sure to reevaluate the transfer student services periodically

can also ensure that these students feel supported and connected to the campus community. As a

former transfer student, I hope that I can become a resource for transfer students in my

professional career, because I lived this experience and I know the challenges these students may

be facing while at a new institution. If I did not know some people going into my final

institution, I would not have had the great experience I did and would not be in student affairs.
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References:

Office of Institutional Research. (2018). Retrieved from

https://ire.uncg.edu/fastfacts/fall2018.php

Padilla, R. V. (1999). College Student Retention: Focus on Success. Journal of College Student

Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 1(2), 131-145. doi:10.2190/6w96-528b-n1kp-

h17n

Renn, K. A., & Reason, R. D. (2013). College students in the United States: Characteristics,

experiences, and outcomes. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

The Transfer Process Defined. (2016, November). Retrieved from

https://www.nacacnet.org/knowledge-center/transfer/the-transfer-process-defined/

Transfers UNC Greensboro Undergraduate Admissions. (2018). Retrieved from

https://admissions.uncg.edu/apply/transfer/