From Recruitment to Retention: Focusing Campus Efforts to Promote Transfer Student Success

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From Recruitment to RetentionFocusing Campus
Efforts to Promote Transfer Student Success
Cathy Buyarski, Ph.D. Assistant Dean, University
College Gayle A. Williams, Ed.D., Assistant
Dean, University College
National Institute for the Study of Transfer
StudentsJanuary 27, 2010Pre-Conference Workshop

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Overview of Session

• Context and Culture of IUPUI
• Council on Retention and Graduation
• Transfer Student Task Force
• Areas of Focus
• Data Analysis
• Moving Forward
• We will stop after each section and provide
  time for you to reflect and answer questions
  about your campus environment and students

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A Place to Begin

• Define transfer student

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About IUPUI

• Founded 1969
• Urban commuter campus
• 180 degrees offered
• Just over 20,000 undergraduate students
• 28,700 total students
• Includes professional schools medicine,
  dentistry, law

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Retention and Graduation at IUPUI

• First to Second Year Retention
• 2004 05 was 67
• 2008-09 was 74
• Six Year Graduation Rates
• 2004 was 22.3
• 2008 was 32.6
• Making progress but
• Students in the official cohort are small
  percentage of our students
• Weve focused almost solely on the cohort
• Seniors, sophomores, students of color, transfers

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Council on Retention and Graduation

• Established by the provost in 2004 as one of the
  major campus councils
• Representation from all academic schools and
  major service units
• Charge Provide the campus-wide leadership and
  coordination necessary (1) to attain a first to
  second year retention rate of at least 75 for
  all full-time students entering in fall 2008
  (2) to attain a six-year graduation rate of 40
  for full-time students entering in fall 2004
  and (3) to award at least 4,000 baccalaureate
  degrees in 2010.

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Transfer Student Task Force

• Subcommittee of the Council on Retention and
  Graduation
• Every school volunteered to participate!
• Goals
• Establish campus definitions of transfer status
• Collect data to better understand the success
  rates of transfer students
• Evaluate current condition of the transfer
  experience
• Make recommendations for serving transfer
  students more effectively

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Areas of Focus

• Defining Transfer Students
• Recruiting and Entry Services
• Existing Services
• Advising and Academic Policies/Procedures
• Transfer Center and Services
• Data and Research

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Who are our Transfer students?

• Categories
• True Transfers students who transfer to IUPUI
  with the intention of earning a degree
• Swirling Transfers students who move between
  enrollment at IUPUI and other institutions some
  are co-enrolled in two or more institutions
• Masquerading Transfers students who intend to
  transfer to IUPUI but for a variety of reasons
  enter as visiting students

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Who are our transfer students?

• IUPUI Definitions
• External transfers from outside the IU system
  students who transfer with 12 or more credits
  from another institution
• Intercampus transfers students who transfer
  from another IU system school with 12 or more
  credits
• Returning students Students who previously
  attended IUPUI and return to the campus after
  having enrolled at another institution

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Recruiting and Entry Services

• Considerations
• Advising is a large part of transfer recruitment
• Increasing the numbers of transfers will increase
  our graduation rate
• Transfers tend to seek advice from academic
  departments/schools prior to initiating admission
• International students are a large part of our
  transfer population
• There are ethical/professional considerations in
  recruiting transfers from other institutions

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Discussion Points

• When is the best time for transfers to enter
  the institution? After a certain number of
  credit hours or semesters?
• What is the relationship between departments and
  Admissions in the process?
• How do we include non-traditional students in our
  recruiting efforts?
• Can we identify and then recruit the transfer
  students most likely to graduate?
• How do we make campus visits and admissions
  process transfer friendly?
• How can we information on being successful at
  IUPUI during transfer orientation (e.g., getting
  involved)?

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Existing Services

• Offices currently providing services to transfer
  students
• Undergraduate Admissions and Campus Visits
• Student Financial Aid Services and Student
  Scholarships
• Multicultural Outreach
• Orientation
• Ivy Tech IUPUI Coordinated Programs
• University College
• Honors Program
• Academic Units
• Registrar
• Level of understanding of and service to transfer
  students varies

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Advising and Academic Policies

• Primary Focus
• Credit evaluation at point of admission
• Advising for first term at IUPUI
• Concerns
• Needs of transfer students
• Time and attention required (workload)
• Other Considerations
• Advising models at feeder institutions
• Pre-reqs based on standing or credit hour
  completion
• Advising beyond articulation

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Transfer Center and Services

• Campus structures are different but economic
  challenges are common to all
• IUPUIs response a gear set model for transfer
  students
• How will it work?
• Plans for the first year of operation revolve
  around data intake

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Assessment Collection Model

• Needs Assessment
• Process Assessment
• Outcomes Assessment

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Start with Baseline Data

• What do you have?
• What do you need?
• Where will you get it?

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Limits of Institutional Data

• Dig deep into the data for critical information
• Determine the characteristics of transfers
• Commuter vs residential
• 2 year vs 4 year
• Freshman vs juniors
• Are there differences in the success rate for
  each group on your campus?
• Where should you put your greatest efforts?

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Initial Data Set from IUPUI

• Transfer success by major, gender, ethnicity
• Credit hour enrollment by school
• Enrollment patterns
• Success rates by feeder institution

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Other Possible Data Sets

• NSSE and other national instruments
• Entering student surveys
• Other campus-wide student surveys
• IUPUI Pulse survey (http//survey.iupui.edu/pulse/
  )

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Your Campus Plan

• Look over your responses and thoughts to the
  action plan questions
• Determine three action steps you can take this
  semester to enhance your campus efforts to
  enhance transfer student success

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Contact Information

• Cathy Buyarski
• cbuyarsk_at_iupui.edu
• 278-4722
• Gayle Williams
• gawillia_at_iupui.edu
• 274-4118