ANTH_199AK_FA03 Transfer Students and the University: Narratives of One Another
Anne Maloney
(amaloney@uiuc.edu)
(ready to use)
Coauthors
EXPLORE
About the ethnographer
In configuring the EXPLORE section of your IP (Inquiry Page), we want you to do some numerical/statistical surfing. We know that the syllabus URLs gave you too much to chew on. But here are some more specific things that you might do. As you do these you might be thinking about the BIG PICTURE for the "little" research that you want to do. For example, if you know that you are interested in the budget at UIUC then budget information at the state and national level will help you, so to speak, "nest" your project.
1. compare some states on the basis of parameters that interest you.
http://measuringup.highereducation.org/2002/stateprofilenet.cfm
or
http://measuringup.highereducation.org/
I think you will be able to figure it out from here.
2. Go here to compare/contrast UIUC, UIC, and UIS along some parameters that interest you. For example, if you know that you are interested in Latino/as at UIUC, you might want to look at race/ethnicity figures for all 3 campuses.
http://www.uoapa.uillinois.edu/databook/
3. Go here to create several customized reports. For example if you are interested in Engineering vs. the rest of the campus you can ask for very specific info about the engineering vs., let's say, the English department
http://www.dmi.uiuc.edu/cp/
We hope that you will play with these to discover things of interest. When you find them you can both link to the information -- if you can --- or cut and paste it in. But in any case, it is critical that you let everyone know why the information strikes you as relevant/interesting -- both in general and in relation to your burgeoning interests.
OTHER THINGS you might do:
1. Introduce some university narratives (ones we reviewed together -- or better yet find new ones) that intrigue you.
2. Introduce information about higher education generally (e.g., the Boyer report -- http://naples.cc.sunysb.edu/Pres/boyer.nsf/ ) that again interests you -- generally, or more specifically with regard to your burgeoning interesrts.
3. Here is the URL for the list of sources for Measuring Up 2000/2002 -- run with it: follow some leads.
Although it is not necessary that your EXPLORE section tell us where you are going(you don't really need to know exactly yet), it should give us and future EOTU users a sense of where you began -- in other words of the kind of questions/ searching/ surfing/ discoveries that set you on your path..
As a transfer student at UIUC, I am interested in the role of transfer students at the University: who comprises the transfer population (ie, are they from community colleges or other 4-year institutions?); why they transfer to the U of I; how the University takes care of transfers/tries to incorporate them into the University lifestyle; and how UIUC differs from other schools (UIC, UIS, other state schools)in their view of transfer students. I realize this is a broad topic and hope to refine my question as my research continues.
An interesting fact that has emerged thus far comes from http://www.uoapa.uillinois.edu/databook/uic/page%20001.pdf - This site contains Highlights from UIC concerning new student enrollment. Comparing this site to the equivalent from UIUC (http://www.uoapa.uillinois.edu/databook/uiuc/page%20075.pdf ) it is interesting to note that UIUC's page does not even mention transfer students, while UIC's does. This simple comparison may prove to be representative of many differences in these two institutions.
A few other things to think about: the percentage of transfer students who arrive after their second year of school vs. the students who are granted admission after only one year; and the idea of a "back door" to the University through programs such as Aviation and Dance.
http://www.itransfer.org/IAI/FACT/TranCoorDir.taf - This is another interesting site, the Transfer Coordinators' Directory. This gives some insight into where the students are presumably transferring from. In a search of UIUC's website, I did not find any statement from the Chancellor about what transfer students mean to the University and have not managed to even find statistics about how many transfer students are on this campus. This is something to look into.
Transfer requirements differ by college, and it might also be interesting to see how the engineering requirements differ from the LAS requirements. To get a more personal view of the transfer process, I also might interview students who have transferred.
http://www.oar.uiuc.edu/prospective/transfer/apply.html - This is a basic site laying out the basic transfer requirements, and contains a link to a list of which colleges are "Open" and "Closed" to prospective transfer students. |
Unit Keywords
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kw:transfer, kw: transfer students, kw: student narratives, KW: orientation |
Partner Projects
| Ethnography of the University |
INQUIRE
Rationale of the Unit
TBA
Although there are many avenues I could take within the topic of transfer students and their role at the University, I think I am going to focus on the reasons WHY students transfer to the University of Illinois, what their EXPERIENCES are as a transfer student, and lastly, what the University's narrative is about WHO transfer students are. To answer these questions, I plan on doing interviews with transfer students in different colleges (eg, LAS, ACES, Engineering) about why they came and what it has been like. To discover the University narratives, I plan on meeting with people from Admissions and Records, New Student Programs, and Marilyn, a woman who works in Henry Admin.
October 8, 2003 Inquiry, revised: Why do students transfer, what is it like to be a student here, and what are the University narratives about transfer students....all centered on the Orientation process. What are the major problems that transfer students have, and what is the University doing to make the transition easier?
Inquiry revised again: What is the University narrative of transfers (eg, where do they come from, how do they perform once they get here, what are retention rates like) and how does that translate into how transfer students are received by the University and incorporated into the University (eg, the Orientation process). How does this, in turn, create narratives that transfer students have about the University? |
Project diary
TBA
September 23, 2003 Finding data about a small and underrepresented group on campus is going to be difficult. This might involve an actual hike to Admissions and Records to see what I can find. Why is there a disparity between the number of transfer students here and at UIC? Is this related to the image of a research university, the image of who attends a community college, or is it simply because of location? This project might become more sociological in nature....
September 25, 2003 I am going to speak at a session for transfer students on Monday. Hopefully this experience can make its way into this project, and maybe I will meet students who would be willing to be interviewed.
September 29, 2003 At the meeting with the transfer students I obtained some purely empirical data about the transfer population within the Psych department. Most students came from schools in Illinois, and the majority of them came from community colleges. A few students transferred here from out of state 4-yr. universities and one girl had gone to four other colleges before coming here. Since this was such a small sub-population of the transfer population I'm not sure how much of this matters, but it was still interesting to be immersed in a group of my "subjects" so soon in the project. I need to find statistics about the transfers before I move any further into the project.
October 6, 2003 I scheduled a meeting with Marilyn for Monday October 13. I hope that talking with her will either narrow my research, or open up some new doors.
October 8, 2003 Tentative meeting scheduled with Rhonda, the head of New Student Programs. Transfer Student Advisory Board Meeting tonight.
October 11, 2003 Meeting with Marilyn tomorrow |
Research Plan
TBA
To discover the University narrative of transfer students, I am going to decode the massive amounts of information I received from Marilyn in UOAPA. To find out how the University receives the transfer students, I am going to do an interview with the head of New Student Programs, and a mini-ethnography of the Transfer Student Advisory Board meetings. To learn about transfer student narratives of the University, I am going to do one-on-one interviews with transfer students that represent different parts of the transfer population. For example, students who transfer from four-year schools, students who had a simple transition...the options are endless.
From University of Illinois Student Data Book, Fall Term 2002. University Office for Academic Policy Analysis, January 2003.
Information from Fall 2002 is the most recent information available about the student population at UIUC, and the Student Data Book contains information about all three University of Illinois campuses. This booklet is comprised of charts and tables that explain the population of all of the campuses in many different ways. Before delving into the transfer orientation process, or the narratives that transfers have about the University, it is important to understand some basic things about the transfer population. According to Table 44 (p.77), the number of transfer students every year has remained relatively stable, with about 1,000 students being admitted every fall. An unofficial source says that the Office of Admissions and Records is projecting about 1,066 students for entrance in the fall of 2004. This population is admittedly small when compared to the around 6,000 new freshman admitted every year, 400 “Readmits” and 20,000 “Continuing Students.”
Table 52 (p.91) breaks down transfer enrollment by the college students enter upon arrival on campus. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences admits the most transfers every year (444 students in Fall 2002) and the College of Engineering holds the second spot (218 in Fall 2002). This is quite contrary to the rumor that circulates campus about transfers “getting in through the back door” by applying to the College of Aviation or Fine and Applied Arts.
Sixty percent of transfers in 2002 came from community colleges, and the majority of students (from both four and two-year schools) are between 20 and 21 years of age. More than half are male, and around 80 percent are White. 76.7% of students from 2-year schools and 56.5% from 4-year institutions have enough credit to be considered a junior upon enrollment. The largest “feeder institution” into UIUC is Parkland College, which provides more than a hundred more students (169 students) than its nearest competitor, the College of Dupage (51 students).
On the topic of academic performance (Table 59): An interesting thing to note is that four-year transfers enter with a lower GPA than transfers from community colleges (3.15 compared to 3.26 respectively), but after 6 terms at UIUC the 4-year transfer’s GPA’s are higher (3.03 to 2.76). Both sets of grade point averages drop. This is intriguing to me, and will be discussed later in the paper.
The transfer population makes up only one twentieth of the UIUC population (at best), so it is easy to understand how these few students could get overlooked or marginalized by the University’s administrators, staff, and “native” students. This booklet is only one publication put out by the University and its tone is objective, so to get at the more personal narratives that accompany the “transfer experience” I will be conducting personal interviews with the head of Transfer Orientation and with numerous transfer students who will hopefully share their stories with me. The place where these accounts intersect is where my research will take on its meaning.
October 28, 2003
I had a very productive meeting with Nancy today, and here is a list of people I want to interview, and questions I want to ask. We decided that even if I don’t accomplish every single one of these tasks, someone else could pick up the project another semester. The important part is that I’m thinking. I guess. I would still like to get all of this done.
1. [The Transfer Cluster: [I need to find the RD], the RA, and all of the students who live here. The fact that something like this even exists on campus is an indication of something, even though I’m not sure what. Possibly that the University assumes that all transfer students are enough alike that they would want to live with one another…Is this because the University assumes they all come from the same place (e.g., a community college) or is it the University’s attempt at alleviating some of the stress of the transition?]
a. [Stalk the Resident Director, go to Hopkins and find out what his Office Hours are – look into the Area Coordinator of the 6 Pack]
2. [Rhonda, head of New Student Programs: As the coordinator of the University’s orientation program, what is her personal narrative of who transfer students are? What is her personal philosophy about the proper way to “orient” all types of new students? Most importantly, is the University viewing transfers as comparable with freshmen, or with the upperclassmen? Find out how she picked the students she did for the Transfer Student Advisory Board, also see if she will give me a list of students’ names, or help me get in contact with someone in Housing
a. Three major concepts: transition (the process of actually changing schools and how that can affect an individual), identity (do students see themselves as freshmen, juniors, or just “new students”, and conflict (the University itself is conflicted about how to treat this liminal population)
3. [Erica, head of the Transfer Student Social Club: What are her motivations for starting this club? What is her perception of what it means to be a transfer student, and what were her experiences during this transition? ]
a. [Deneen: How does she perceive her role as an advisor to transfer students? This will tie back to Light’s view of advisors and their importance. Personal philosophy, and Deneen’s role in the formation and execution of the Transfer Student Social Club]
4. [PJ, Bill’s student, Nancy’s student, [Laurie]
5. Transfer students from other colleges (Engineering in particular): Compile and analyze data comparing the transfer students in Engineering to say, ALS. Are the students transferring into Engineering mostly from 4-year colleges while the students transferring into ALS are from community colleges? I don’t think I’ll be able to get names from the College of Engineering, but what is the difference from a purely numerical/statistical standpoint?
a. Nancy says there’s some transfer office in Chemistry. Look into this.
6. Secretaries: Talk to the people who really know what’s going on – the secretaries. Try to find out who takes care of transferring credits, etc. They might give me some good information.
7. Marilyn: Look through her data again and formulate my own questions about demographics of the transfer population and then schedule another meeting with her, pressing her for more personal views about what a transfer student is.
a. What made you want to change things? Has this resulted in a different understanding of what a transfer student is?
8. Comparison: Decide on good factors and then find schools that I can compare U of I to, in their admissions, reception, retention, and overall view of transfer students. Nancy suggested Madison as a school that was pretty comparable, and Michigan, which has a much higher out-of-state student population. I could also look into Notre Dame, which is the same in some respects (Midwestern, high-ranking) but not in others (private, small).
9. Comparison to other student populations: For instance, last year there were 907 African-Americans admitted, and around a thousand transfers. What does this mean? Also, the face that most transfers are white males?
Brackets mean I have found the answer to my question, or that I've found this person....
November 20, 2003 I have added a few more things to my to-do list. I have to make the survey to hand out to "native" students to see what the general consensus is about transfers, and I would like to speak with someone in financial aid about how their FA differs.
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Project diary
TBA
October 19, 2003 I have just started to analyze the data from the Office of Academic Policy Analysis, and I need to contact someone from the transfer cluster in Hopkins so I can begin personal interviews.
October 22, 2003 I emailed the Resident Director of Hopkins today about interviewing transfer students. I am going to make copies of the Informed Consent forms and start interviewing my friends until I hear back from the RD.
October 29,2003 What a day! I talked to the RD at Hopkins, who gave me the name of the RA in the transfer cluster, who I called and emailed. The RD also gave me the name of a man in Housing who I spoke with on the phone, and he, in turn, gave me the name of the woman who was the Area Coordinator of the Six Pack the year the Transfer Cluster was created. I made an appt. with this woman who then gave me the name of the woman who takes care of room assignments and works in Housing Administration. I have lots of good leads now, and I have two interviews with transfer students scheduled, a meeting with Rhonda, and a meeting with my advisor who is also helping to start the Transfer Student Social Club. Next week is going to be all EOTU, all the time. |
Readings, Keywords, and Constructs
TBA
kw: narratives, kw: transfer students, kw: university office for academic policy analysis, kw: university narratives
Constructs:
Three of the main concepts that I keep running into are transition, identity, and conflict. See Investigate I. |
Project diary
TBA
October 26, 2003 The RD from Hopkins has not gotten back to me yet, and I can't just get into the building and start knocking on doors (which is what I'm ready to do) because I don't have a security key....hmmmmm
November 4, 2003 I finally met the RA in the Transfer Cluster and gave him some fliers about my project to hang up in the hall. He told me he would really encourage students to contact me about interviews. |
Field Notes
TBA
November 4, 2003
I have done major amounts of research in the past few days - I have done four interviews, made two more for tomorrow, and I have a much larger understanding of the "transfer experience."
My first meeting was with Rhonda on Monday. She, as I have mentioned, is the head of New Student Programs, so she is in charge of both freshman and transfer orientation. I interviewed her to obtain one of the more prevalent University narratives, and I learned a lot from her. One of the things she mentioned, which is something that I think has been forgotten in all of my research, is that there is political pressure on her to service the larger group of incoming students (the freshman). She did maintain that serving the diverse transfer population (a "special population") is difficult, but that they are constantly working to retool the transfer orientation process.
She divides the transfer students into three categories: students who transfer from community colleges and have never really been away from home, students who transfer from a 4 yr. institution and are only interested in the specific ins and outs of U of I, and Parkland transfers (which make up one fifth of the transfer population) who have friends here, are familiar with the University, and usually don't take part in Transfer Student Orientation.
Because of the special needs of this (transfer) population, she says, their orientation is different than the freshman orientation. There are different Special Interest sessions, for instance. While freshmen may have the opportunity to attend sessions that address such topics as the Greek system and Campus Issues, transfers attend sessions about the Tenant Union or Financial Aid. Although this is working, Rhonda feels that a few things should change in the orientation process. For instance, she feels that the "orienting" should begin in April, at the same time that the other upperclassmen are registering and getting ready for the next fall. She thinks there should be websites devoted entirely to assisting transfers, and she mentioned two universities (Florida International University and the University of Minnesota) that run their transfer orientation entirely online. While that is not the direction she hopes Illinois' transfer process goes ("It's not the 'Illinois way'"), it is definitely an interesting spin on how to orient new students.
When asked about her general philosophy about how to orient all new students, Rhonda said that it was "to assure that their transition is comfortable - from registering to finding friends to being aware of available resources. To feel like someone at the University cares about you. To be successful." Well Rhonda, I agree.
My interview with her was an interesting and meaningful look into the University narrative of transfers that quite possibly matters the most. She recognizes that transfer students are a diverse and special population, and she is always open to new ideas for change.
So far, I have done interviews with three transfer students, and am waiting on contact with the students who live in the Transfer Cluster. Instead of summarizing each interview separately, I plan on waiting until I have all (or at least most) of my data and compiling it into some general statements.
On November 5, 2003, I had two very meaningful meetings with different University representatives. The first meeting was scheduled with Trish, who was the Area Coordinator of Gregory Drive Residence Halls the year the Transfer Cluster began. She is currently the Assistant Director of Residential Life for Human Resources. She told me that the Transfer Cluster began in the 1998-99 school year, and it was a joint idea with a woman on campus (who I plan on contacting), herself, and Rhonda from New Student Programs. Trish mentioned the name of the Resident Director who actually got the program “on its feet,” and no kidding, this RD happened to walk into the office and join our meeting. The former RD, who is currently employed in another capacity at the University, was the RD who really began the Transfer Cluster. Interviewing Trish and the RD simultaneously was at times confusing, but ultimately beneficial. Between the two of them, this is what I learned: The Transfer Cluster began in ‘98-‘99 not as a Living Learning Community, but more as a “special interest community” which Trish likened to the substance-free hall, Snyder. When asked how the University responded to the idea of this new community, I was told that the creation of the T.C. was not associated with Academic Affairs, didn’t need approval from anyone, and since Housing sort of stands alone in its financial situation (that is, they make enough money with charging room and board to pretty much to do whatever they want), it only took a small amount of extra program funding to really get the program up and running. In the beginning, there was not as much interest in the T.C. as there is now (according to another official in Housing, "the Transfer Cluster on the first floor of Hopkins hall has a total capacity of 39 residents (19 men and 20 women). Students can indicate on their housing contract that they have a preference to live in the Transfer Cluster. We then assign spaces based on the date contracts are received. There is not an additional application process beyond this.").
For a short time Housing experimented with an extension of the T.C. to TVD (Taft –Van Doren), but it didn’t work. Both Trish and the RD attribute this small failure, and the flourishing of the T.C. in Hopkins, to the number of non-freshman living in each building. The residents of TVD are about 90% freshmen, which doesn’t provide as supportive of an environment as is created in Hopkins with the substantial number of sophomores who still live in the dorm. We discussed this link with other students later in the interview as well, focusing on how living with students who are not freshman makes it easier for transfer students to begin creating student networks at the University. (And, as a result, move out of the state of transition). Anecdotally, both women said they had heard nothing but positive comments about living in the T.C. – in fact, students often complain about having to move out after one year. Side note: students are only allowed to “live in” for one year, as it is the University’s plan to aid the students in their time of transition, but then encourage them to become active members of the University community. The T.C., in this way, provides support for transfer students when they need it, and the appropriate push into the University community when their initial transition is complete.
The specific narratives each woman had about transfer students also created interesting dialogue. Transfer students, in their collective estimation, were more in need of career exploration assistance and academic advising. This is what they saw as the main difference between freshmen and transfers, and these two areas is where the majority of floor funds go. The former Resident Director was able to attest to the fact that in the T.C. there are no discipline problems and the students monitor themselves as far as multicultural/diversity issues.
Another factor in the success of the T.C. is the bonding that occurs with the students who live there. While their initial bond is that they are (what else?) transfers, there is something about having a particular physical space that ties people together. The actual area of the T.C. is smaller than the other floors in Hopkins, and Trish continued to focus on how important this was in creating a sense of community for the students.
When looking to the broader University views of transfer students, I learned that there are small groups of people across campus who understand the special needs of this community, but in general these women felt that it was “not on the radar,” and that’s part of the reason why the T.C. was created.
Transfers, in some senses, are treated as freshmen when they come here and begin living in the T.C. There are “First Six Weeks” programs that teach students the specific ins and outs of UIUC, but in other respects, transfers are excluded from the “freshman experience.” Every year, it is requested that transfer students be allowed to attend the New Student Convocation that occurs for the freshmen before the beginning of every school year. Every fall, this request is denied by “the committee,” which consists of representatives from the Chancellor’s office, the Provost’s office, and the Board of Trustees. This is the reason that the Transfer Student Welcome (the transfer’s alternative to Convocation) was created.
In summarizing their viewpoints (and this is not to link these two women in thought or action, only in interview time) each woman agreed that transfer students are not exempt from the general Housing mantra, which is “Learning, Growing, Mattering.” For everyone.
Meeting #2 was with Deneen, an adviser in the Psychology Department. Deneen has been my personal adviser the entire time I have been at the University and she’s always been an excellent resource, so I knew she would be willing to meet with me and discuss this issue. In addition, at the beginning of the year I attended a meeting that the Psych dept. has for transfer students, and I heard her speak about the importance of transfer students within the University community, and the role of advisers as the beginning of the University network. I knew her perspective would be a different type of University narrative.
Deneen’s personal narrative of transfer students is that they are a “special population” (sentiments expressed by Rhonda and Trish). She held that transfers also needed more guidance than freshmen – not introduction, but nuturance. A warm, friendly environment. Access to groups of students with similar experiences. This is not the type of University narrative I expected to get, although I was pleasantly surprised that a University representative was viewing the transfer population not as numbers and transferable credit, but students with special needs who want, like everyone, to be accepted. In accordance with the University-wide orientation program, advisers from the Psych dept. meet with students in small groups and stress to them, as Deneen said a number of times, the importance of viewing advisers as the first step in creating a personal University network. This tied in nicely with the idea that Trish and the former RD described about transfer students needing more career exploration advice, and more academic advising. Deneen, not only in the interview sense, is picking up where Housing left off. The Psych dept. also holds two meetings a year, one in the fall, one in the spring, to welcome new transfer students, and allow them to interact with one another. It was at the meeting this fall that the idea for a transfer student social club began. The girl who is championing this organization is one of the transfers that I interviewed, and I will be discussing her interview farther down the Inquiry Page.
In all of my interactions with University representatives, I have asked what changes should or could be made in the treatment of transfer students – whether it is within Housing, registration, orientation – any change that could make the transition easier for students. Deneen thinks, like many others, that the registration process should change for transfer students, and with this, the Psych dept. should be able to give students more information about what classes they need to take, what credits have transferred, etc. I think I might need to meet with someone from LAS, to see where the glitch in communication occurs with transferable credit. She also suggested a longer orientation, saying that transfer students are expected to learn everything they need to know in only one day. She agreed with the focus on career development, and ended by saying that in any situation, it is the students who come to see their advisers the most frequently that seem to flourish the most. And without a doubt, her most frequent visitors are transfer students.
November 10. 2003 None of the transfer students that live in the Cluster have gotten back to me, so once again, my project is at a stalemate.
November 18, 2003 I have been in email contact with the woman who does room assignments for new students. She is not available to meet any time this week (and I will be gone for the next two) so she offered to answer some of my questions over email. She said that there are actually only 39 people living in the Transfer Cluster this year, which differs from the figure I got before. Assignments for the Transfer Cluster are done the way they are for all new students, which is first come, first served. She said there is no additional application process, and she didn't think there was anything else I needed to know about the Transfer Cluster.
November 20, 2003 At this point I have interviewed four transfer students, which is dismal. I wish people would contact me. If I had more time I would more actively seek them out, and when I get back from vacation, I plan on doing just that. I am currently doing searches on the ERIC database that my library friend sugggested, and if I find anything intriguing, I will add it to the IP. I am meeting with an official in Admissions today to see what her narrative is about transfer students.
December 8, 2003 After a two week hiatus (a life-changing vacation in Fiji) I have returned to finish up my project.
The last interview I did with a University representative was with an official in Admissions. Her position is such that she is choosing to remain anonymous, but she was more than willing to answer any questions I had about the transfer admissions process. Before discussing the details of our discussions, it is important to clear up a few terms used in this process.
The students who apply to the University are aptly referred to as “applicants” while the number accepted are termed “admits.” Of those who are admitted, only a portion actually “accept” the University of Illinois and even smaller number enrolls. These students comprise the freshman class. Enrolled freshman divided by the number of admits becomes a proportion known as the yield. U of I has a yield of approximately 50% on freshman applicants, which is relatively high. Most universities have a yield of about 25%.
The freshman admissions process is more rigid than transfer admissions because the number of transfers admitted depends on individual colleges within the University. For instance, the secondary education of English curriculum is rather small, and is therefore not seeking as many admits per semester as say, any larger program within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Each semester there is direct communication between the colleges and the admissions office, and approximate numbers are received for the next set of applications. Spring transfer admits equal around 150 students every year, but we chose to leave this small group out of our discussion, as their admission is even more complex than the fall transfer admits. As I have stated, the number of fall transfers is usually around 1,000. This number is not decided by a particular person, it just seems to work out this way every year. One of my hypotheses in comparing freshman and transfers was an assumption that there would be a higher proportion of transfers who accepted their admission and enrolled. This is in fact the case. Speaking strictly in numbers, the breakdown for Fall 2003 looks like this: For freshman: 22,269 applied; 13,939 were admitted; and 6,801 enrolled (a yield of about fifty percent). For transfers, 2,630 applied; 1,409 were admitted; and 1,081 enrolled (for this small population, a yield of about 75%).
Because of the way transferring works, the individual colleges have more interaction with the applicants (on paper) than they do with freshmen. By this I mean that it is up to the colleges to decide things like which classes will transfer from the first institution, how they will transfer, and what that means for the student when they enter the University. This involves looking for proper prerequisites and totaling hours accrued at the first college. Currently, there is a website that will do some of these equations for the students before they even apply to the University.
http://www.oar.uiuc.edu/prospective/transfer/CurrentSearchTransferSchool.asp
This site is helpful for transfer students, as they can choose which college they are attending, and see how their courses would transfer to the University of Illinois. This type of web-based pre-application assistance for students is constantly being retooled, and the official made it more than clear that the University understands this is one of the easiest ways for students to access proper information about course transfers, and this site will probably not be the only resource available to future prospective transfers. The process of matching courses from the first institution to the U of I is called course articulation. And this brings us to one of the most pervasive myths about transferring to the University. TRANSFERRING FROM PARKLAND IS NOT EASIER. I say this in caps not because I am irritated, but because this is a myth I have been hearing for literally years. As a high school student in Illinois, I was under the impression that transferring from Parkland was simpler. The truth is that the course articulation is simpler, and that’s because Parkland is also a school in Illinois. If you browse the schools listed in the drop-down menu on the website above, you will see that there is a similar level of simplicity with all other schools listed. Myth one, debunked.
Myth two: that it is easier to apply and be accepted as a transfer into one of the smaller colleges, such as FAA. Per previous discussion about how transfers are admitted, one will see that applying to the smallest college within the University will actually probably lessen one’s chances of being accepted, as the smaller colleges might not seek as many applicants every semester. Numbers show that most students apply to, and are accepted into, the bigger colleges like LAS and Engineering.
There are many more myths, and I can’t approach them all in one semester, but I have definitely learned enough from this interview (and all of the others) to make some definitive statements about the transfer process here at U of I. Additionally, I have learned that the myths about transfer students must be held only by the students themselves. No University officials have ever mentioned an "easy" way to obtain admittance into the University, and there has never been any allusion to transfer students being less than worthy of admission. The stories that I mentioned in my Explore box (about simple ways to get into U of I, and ideas that professors may have about students who transfer) are completely unfounded in an official sense. Rather, it is the transfer students' own perception of their worth, or native students' perception, that creates these narratives. If I had more time, I would interview transfers and natives alike to see who is actually creating these narratives. |
Project diary
TBA
October 27, 2003 Interviews are essential, but I don't know how to find transfer students that have not self-selected for some other variables. For instance, students who would be accessible through transfer student social groups are not exactly generalizable to the whole transfer population. This has been one of my biggest restrictions as a researcher. In future research on this topic, interviewing more students is essential.
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Findings
TBA
Student narratives of the University are diverse and extensive. There are histories from hundreds of years ago recorded in the Student Life Archive, and many stories that have yet to be told. Each student that passes through this University has something to say, whether it’s something they want to be remembered for, or something they wish would change. One student narrative in particular is very important to me, and that is the narrative held by the transfer student population. Although this group is minute compared to the enormous undergraduate population, their story is still an essential component of the University narrative as a whole. While I have struggled with a specific research topic and vacillated between many aspects of this issue, I have finally narrowed my focus to a set of questions that aims right at the heart of what it means to be a transfer student at the University of Illinois. By dissecting each of these questions, I hope to finally answer some queries that have been bothering me since I first arrived here as a transfer three years ago. First of all, what is the University narrative of transfer students? That is, what is the administrative (and even personal) understanding that faculty and administrators have about the transfer population? And what is the result of the implementation of that narrative? What kind of orientation process does the University have for this diverse group? And how, in turn, do those processes affect and create narratives that the transfer students themselves have about the University? Towards the end of this discussion I realize that the causes and effects of each of these questions will result in something quite circular, but to start, there are many trends and facts that can be explored.
The University narrative of transfer students is explicitly stated in many publications distributed by the University Office of Academic Policy Analysis. The most recent set of data, which was published in 2002, is summarized and partially analyzed in the Investigate section of this Inquiry Page. In addition to this highly factual set of demographics and breakdowns, there is a new initiative, which is being run by New Student Programs. This more personal look at the transfer student population and their orientation to campus has resulted in a Transfer Student Advisory Board, which is a group of transfer students who are working closely with administrators to fine-tune this process. By participating in this group, and getting to know other transfer students, I have amassed a wealth of information regarding what individual narratives are about the University.
After doing personal interviews with transfer students, I hope to analyze their experiences and create a composite narrative of the University, through the eyes of this population.
In interviews with many representatives of the University, I have discovered that the general attitude toward transfer students is not as dismissive as I had originally thought. Every University staff member I have spoken with refers to these students as a "special population" and each department they work in (Orientation, Housing, Academic Advising) has different plans for how to better serve this diverse population. Conversely, the students I have spoken with have had very few positive things to say about their transition into the University. While the students I have spoken with are somewhat self-selected (friends of mine or acquaintances from student organizations), making their opinions far from generalizable, there seems to be a few trends.
All of the students I interviewed said that the transfer orienation process was "overwhelming." They all cited the massive amount of information that needs to be absorbed in the single-day process, and said that it should be longer to facilitate more understanding. One of the girls suggested a two-day transfer orientation, but from personal knowledge of transfer students, and my own experiences, I don't know if that would be a good idea. Another trend that I noticed is the constant references to the registration process and the lack of academic advising the transfers feel they received upon arrival to the University. It was interesting, in this sense, to have interviewed Deneen, an adviser in Psychology. As an adviser, she feels as though she is reaching out to the students, while the students' perceptions of the advising process are quite different. This also relates to the discussions with Trish and the former RD of Hopkins about how the students in the Transfer Cluster are served. There is more of a focus on career exploration and academic advising in the floor activities for the transfer students, and from my research, it looks as though this is exactly what should be going on. As far as further implications, this small amount of investigation may prove that all transfer students should not only go through a Transfer Student Welcome, but longer, more intense meetings with advisors, and have increased access to career resources. Clearly, the struggles that transfer students are having are vastly different than those experienced by freshmen.
On the other hand, there are many similarities between transfer students and freshmen. Transfer students, although they may be hesitant to access resources, attend meetings, or ask for help, are just as in need of specific information about the University. While someone who has attended a four-year institution before may be familiar with the "college experience," there are many things that differentiate the University of Illinois from other institutions. In particular, there is a difference between the atmosphere at a community college and the atmosphere here. In an impromptu phone interview with someone from Housing, I was told that at a community college, there is usually one building where all administrative activities take place, and this building is open into the evening because of the number of night students that the typical community college enrolls. Transfer students, then, must acclimate not only to the institution as a whole, but to the "customer service" aspect of the University. In this sense, both transfer students and freshmen are in need of specific orientation to how the University of Illinois functions. While becoming familiar with any new place is neither immediate nor simple, there are some steps being taken to ensure that the transition for transfer students is as simple and accomodating as possible.
A meeting with an official in Admissions led me to a website (described in more detail in the Create section) that assists students with the course articulation, or how their classes will transfer from one institution to the next. To me, this is the first step in even deciding to transfer to U of I. Although many times (all times even) there are circumstances that nearly require a transfer, if the process is too much of a hassle, students will merely give up. Providing students with accessible online information about what their status would be as a University member facilitates the application process. Once a student has applied, there are people in place to further encourage this complicated process. The individual colleges decide how many students they need each semester, determine which prerequisites and other requirements have been filled, and ultimately decide (with the Office of Admissions) if a student is to be admitted. With a 75% yield on fall transfer students, odds are that the student will be coming to Champaign the following fall.
Prior to beginning the school year, a new transfer will attend the Transfer Student Orientation, a process run by New Student Programs. As this particular program is always being reworked, each year it provides the most essential information to transfer students. As opposed to what freshmen are exposed to during the Orientation process, transfers are assisted with registration, information about leasing an apartment, safety in Urbana-Champaign, and other more specific routes of knowledge for those who have attended a college before, but not at this institution. Also at Orientation, transfers are able to meet with advisers in their department, who, as I have discovered, are more than willing to aid in this difficult transition process, and have even set up social groups for this special population. My small amount of research has indicated that there should be more time spent on the student's inital class registration, and possibly an extended meeting with officials from their department/college. An idea of my own is to have small group sessions run by former transfer students. In groups of possibly fifty, new transfers can meet with someone like me (or any of the students I interviewed) who have experienced this exact transition themselves. This addition to the Orientation process would have many benefits. New students would probably feel more comfortable in the presence of someone who is not so far removed from the process, and they would be able to ask specific questions about things that other University officials might not have information about (ie, what being in an RSO is like, how to start creating University networks, how to meet professors, what bars to avoid, etc). This focused attempt at encouraging the involvement of students would assist in their transition to the University. Of all the students I interviewed, every one has been involved in University activities, and most of them attribute their success to those connections.
If transfers are interested in living with others who have similar circumstances, the University offers the Transfer Cluster, a space designed to facilitate a sense of community for what could otherwise be a very disparate set of individuals. In this physically small area, students are able to bond with peers, and begin their own University networks. As it is surmised that transfer students, by the time they get here, are more serious about their academics (posited by I think all of the university representatives I spoke with) the hall funds in the Transfer Cluster go towards providing even more resources about things like career planning and academic advising. The University, up to this point, seems to be covering all the bases with aiding in the transfer’s transition.
Once the school year starts, it is anyone’s guess as to how all of the planning will turn out. Students at U of I, as a rule, are incredibly diverse, so within any small population, there will be rave reviews and immediate suggestions for revision of the process. One student I interviewed used her experience as a transfer and turned it into becoming an Orientation student coordinator, while another took her own initiative and began a Registered Student Organization devoted to the comfortable social assimilation of transfer students on this campus. While all of the students I interviewed were not entirely content with what the University had to offer them (they thought Orientation was too short, too long, not enough information, too much information, etc.) they seem to have picked up right where the administration left off. And as for the question I asked each of them, “Are you happy at Illinois?” Every single one of them said yes. Some said it more than once.
Although my discussion of the topic strayed a little from the intial research questions regarding the Orientation process, I have come away with a more diverse set of data than I could have ever imagined. I wasn't able to interview any professors to see what their impressions of transfer students were, but all of the officials I spoke with were accepting and aware of the population. As for how these narratives create the Orientation process, I think the interviews with Rhonda and the women from Housing prove that the University is well aware of the needs of the transfer population, and everyone is open to suggestions for how to make the process simpler and more informative. One of the things I failed to recognize in my original hypothesis was the dynamic nature of "the Orientation process." This, like other University goings-on, are constantly changing to meet the shifting needs of the students. This cannot be overlooked in my discussion of what would or could change. The University is working as hard as it can, under financial and political constraints, to ensure that everyone is offered an enjoyable University experience.
In the creation of narratives from the Orientation process to the student's experience, I failed to note the individuality of people, and the force that one person has. The Orientation experience is not the same for all individuals, and it's difficult to tell who will internalize the University's positive messages and have a good time while they are here, and who will use school merely as a platform for a career. The diversity of the masses is immense, and as I noted earlier, the students I interviewed have managed to fix what they saw as the problem, or otherwise create ways to personally effect change. Good for them.
These narratives, of course, all work together, and not independent of the rest of the University. New Student Programs, as I have said, is under other offices in the University community, academic advisers work under their departments, and Housing I guess is an aberration, although ultimately at the mercy of the students' cooperation. This is all to say that serving the diverse and special transfer student population is no different than meeting the needs of the diverse and special undergraduate population. That is, it's essential, it's meaningful, and it has lasting impact. The role of the University in its treatment of students (or more importantly in the students' perception of their treatment) is the most crucial role the University has. Taking all sub-populations seriously is a must. And my interviews with officials have proven that the people at U of I are doing just that. Every one of the people I spoke with was anxious to see what I uncovered in my search, and I hope I have provided everyone with enough information to see just a little beyond their own role at the University. I should reiterate now that I would continue this research for another year if given the chance, as what I have discovered is only the tip of the transfer student iceberg.
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Project diary
Refer to other EOTU work
TBA
My work is probably the most closely connected with Nicole's look into technology in the classroom/physical space in the classroom and Andrew's look at budget cuts in the library because we all had to rely on student interviews to make our points. Any other work devoted to exposing narratives of University officials, especially those toward certian populations of students, would definitely be similar to my research. Future work might include a comparison of how transfer students are treated/served and how another small population like international students are served. |
Project diary
Project diary
TBA
It’s amazing how quickly a semester can fly by. Here we are, in December, and I feel as though I’ve just gotten started on this project. There are so many more things I want to explore within this topic (I might turn it into a senior thesis), and there just isn’t time. One of the major things I omitted in this research was comparison between the University of Illinois and other schools in the country. I found that our processes were so complex they deserved all of my time, but if I choose to extend this project, comparison will be essential. In addition, I didn’t do as much library research as I intended. Again, this would have made the project much more generalizable, and congruent with previous studies done on transfer populations.
In seeing what I have minimized in my research though, I can see what I have found. (And I’m positive there’s a better phrase for what I mean, but it’s late and I can’t think of it. If you can, let me know). What I have come away with are the tidbits of information that I have amassed to create a comprehensive look at the transfer process at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. I have gained insight and knowledge about the type of students who seek to transfer here, and what the University specifically does to welcome them to our community; how the students view this process, and how they see themselves as Illini; how they are admitted, where they live, what different departments do to ensure their livelihood. I may have left out information about Florida International University, the school that has an online orientation process, but I met advisers who are personally concerned about the welfare of their students. I have no official references in my Connect box, but I have working relationships with some of the people on campus that I previously thought were untouchable, unavailable to students. I have truly learned.
In closing, I must say that the Inquiry Page medium has enabled me to be a student at my potential. Unbound by page restrictions or topic sentences, I have let my questions expand and detract as needed, and I’ve changed my mind as often as I’ve desired. Connected to the Internet, I’ve cut out the messy work of proper referrals, and allowed those who read my page to actually see what I’ve seen. They will be able to draw their own conclusions, or merely pick up where I’ve left off. The informal tone of the Diary entries makes me human, while the more academic tone of other boxes proves I’ve worked hard. Mostly, this project, facilitated by this page, has focused my energies on a specific topic and allowed me to be both a pedagogue and a pupil in the most meaningful of settings: the University.
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Project diary
TBA
RECOMMENDATIONS: I mentioned a recommendation in my Discuss section, about the small group sessions during Transfer Orientation. I think this would be an important step to take, as it will facilitate the creation of University connections. Along those lines, maybe there should be a special interest session about RSO's. In addition, the students I interviewed showed a strong desire for more contact with their department, and more of an introduction to U of I Direct prior to class registration, and possibly a sheet telling them what has/has not transferred from their original institution. From experience, I know it's difficult to decide what classes to take when you're not sure what Gen Eds you've already taken care of, etc. Starting the Tranfer process in April with emails from the University is also a great idea. This will allow students time to ask questions, find an apartment, consider different classes or even consider different major options. This is not so much a recommendation as it is an acknowledgment, but to everyone who seems fully aware of the plight of the transfer students, thank you - and to everyone who feels as though they are missing something, to everyone who feels like they need just a little more insight, I will say that all of the students I interviewed were more than willing to share their experiences with me. All of them agreed to be contacted again if I should need it, and all did the interviews with smiles on their faces. One of the biggest things I learned in this ethnography was that people are not only willing to talk, but anxious to have their voice heard. It was much easier to make appointments with some of the "head honchos" here than I originally thought - and if University officials were that accessible to me, imagine how accessible students would be to these same people. By opening my mind just a little, I have broadened my views by about 3000 percent. I think everyone could use a little of this every once in a while. |
Credits and Acknolwedgement
| Thank you to Bill and Nancy for everything! The meetings, the class time, all of the helpful suggestions, and definitely all the support! Thank you to everyone I interviewed, I hope I've done you justice - and thank you to everyone who provided me with a name, phone number, even schedule (!) of someone that might be able to help me. Thank you to my roommates for listening to me talk about transfer students for four months, and to everyone who ever let me talk about this project (incessantly) just so I could figure things out in my own mind. Thank you everyone! Happy Holidays! |
Users' Comments on this Unit
- Hi! Yes, as you suggest "the options are endless"! I'm curious about the info that MM gave you! I like your suggestion that the university narrative (likely in the plural) of transfer students takes on life in the way that the university (i.e., relevant units) decided to welcome/orient them to the university (e.g., the information, advice etc. that they choose to give them reflects their understanding of this group -- you began to get at this nicely when you talked about whether they are/not treated like freshman). In order to get at this --as you suggest -- you need to talk to the agents that plan, run etc. these activities to talk to them both about what they do and mor importantly why they do what they do (here, for example, I would love to know what the explicit/implicit narrative is of what it means to transfer to UIUC from a a community college -- or, more fundamentally, if there even is such a narrative, etc.) The other half of your project, as you suggest, is the students and their own narratives (how they got here) and their sense of how they are, in a sense, being narrated/treated here by the university. I hope my comments make sense. Let's talk next week, if we can.
- by nabelman@uiuc.edu
- Anne, Your project seems to be going very smoothly. Your questions are very focused and clear. I look forward to seeing some information regarding the transfer student narratives. I was also wondering about the sub-groups in the larger transfer student group. In other words, how do you expect the transfer student narratives to differ from one another, and why?
Everything looks great!!Good Luck with the rest.
- by tramos@uiuc.edu
- Wow! All the recent developments are great! I didn't realize that Brad was the RD of Hopkins. I had to work with him last year and he can be hard to get a hold of, so I'm glad you finally did. I love the list of things to look into, and that you realize you might not be able to cover all of them. I cannot wait to read about how your interviews went, especially with the members of the transfer student cluster. Hope your "all EOTU all the time" week goes well! - by tramos@uiuc.edu
- Hi Ann,
I have finally managed to get into your unit! For some reason I could see everyone's but yours. Anyway you've done a lot of legwork and your project sounds great. I was a transfer student (I did 2 years at Iowa State and then transferred to Cornell University where I graduated from) and I also found there were some real differences in the narratives built around transfer students both by administrators and the students themselves. I realize that this project is a local one, but you might try to find some statistics and information in a broader framework as well, to help you place the local information in a larger context. One suggestion I have is going to ERIC, which has journal articles and reports on education. I did an easy search with the keywords "transfer students" and came up with many articles some of which look like they would be useful to you. You can access ERIC at
http://www.edrs.com/SearchOrderDefault.cfm This is their e-subscribe site and you can choose to have the articles emailed to you or to read them online. I have some more ideas and suggestions, but will send them later. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need any assistance either here or via this site. - by higgs@uiuc.edu
- Hi Ann, Your project is great and you have enough research done to finish your project off. I think the ERIC site is worth consulting. YOu should start your connect and reflect sections soon, maybe on that long plane ride home! You might want to discuss your findings a bit more by creating your own interpretive narrative of the transfer process. You've done that by evaluating the university services, but you might put a bit more about the experiences of both the transfers and the staff who earnestly try to help them. Once you do that you can connect these interpretations to the stories read on ERIC, the stereotypical views of transfers here and elsewhere etc. This should all generate plenty of questions and new things to inquire about in your reflect section. Maybe you could get a lot of this done in your long plane ride back to the States if your aren't too exhausted. You've done a great job with this. Bill - by wkellehe@uiuc.edu
- Hi Ann, It is nice to read your research journey -- yours is really a case for which the reader sees you zero in on your interest. I was a bit surprised in your discuss section to see less attention to the distinction between 2/4 year college transfers and the freshperson/transfer distinction. I thought that you might be able to go furhter to suggest an implicit narrative of the treatment of transfer students, but perhaps by now you think that the "special student" gets at it best. Did the ERIC yield anything. Where would you go from here -- or have others go -- with the project? Some of those thoughts can go under reflect. Under connect, you might indicate points of connection with other students' projects - if you see any. See you in class (and welcome back!), nancy - by nabelman@uiuc.edu
- Anne, I just read the whole thing through again, and I wasn't bored at all. It is gratifying to see how you've changed directions, rethought your assumptions, and explored different dimensions. Overall, your research has given me insight not only to the situation of transfers arriving and discovering the campus, but with the paths all students must meander through. Your recommendation to organize small group discussions for transfers make sense. Implied too is a recommendation that all departments organize some event or some printed material that serves as a guide for transfer students majoring in their specific fields etc. In anthropology, for example, I don't think transfer students are on our map. Reading your work, I think they should be. Another implicit policy recommendation appears to be the need to explain the importance of networks to transfer students - how to make them, use them, enter into them etc. Your research may be helpful to them. You might want to let the people dealing with the transition of transfer students know about it. I would like to have seen an extended narrative or two (perhaps yours) about this transition and the possible personal and educational transformations that may or may not have occurred as a result of transferring here. A long transcripted story would have been wonderful to get a sense of the personal issues involved. You can always add that. Your own autobiographical piece (what you thought of the school here, how you felt about the institution you transferred from, how UIUC differs, what you miss, what you appreciate about this institution etc. I think such stories, yours or others', would be of immense interest to people. Of course, you can add this to the inquiry page anytime if you are so moved. Also, how transfers are classified - 2 year, 2 year, Illinois community colleges, and the myths that try to order these differences is a fascinating aspect of your research. I really hope someone follows up on these. Your discussion of them is insightful and fascinating. It was a pleasure to read this and to work with you this semester. Have a great, well-deserved break. Bill - by wkellehe@uiuc.edu
- Hi Anne, It is great to come in and see what you have added. I really hope that this does turn into a thesis! Wonderful work. Interesting that you -- and many of the other students -- ended up LESS critical of the university than you began. Glad that you will be working with Abbie and EOTU in the spring. Thanks for all your work, Nancy - by nabelman@uiuc.edu
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