Transferring between institutions can be challenging for students, and sometimes the hurdles are so high that students can fall down on the track.
“Traditionally, when students are transferring, they go to their community college adviser and that adviser will say, ‘You need to talk to the four-year and find out what they require.’ They come to us [at a four-year institution], but are not admitted, so we say, ‘You need to work with your community college adviser,” said Brooke Lockhart, Assistant Director for Transfer Recruitment at Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO).
“When that back-and-forth responsibility is placed on the student, it interferes with them being the best student they can be,” Lockhart said.
That’s why SEMO developed the Transfer Mentor Program, a concurrent advising and enrollment pilot program.
“Our goal with this program is to do as much work for students as possible so they can focus on being a student,” Lockhart said.
Concurrent advising and enrollment
Missouri does not have built-in transfer pathways from two-year to four-year schools, so SEMO decided to look for ways to smooth the transition to their institution.
Here are just a few of the attributes of the program:
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Students can track their progress toward a bachelor’s degree from their first day as a community college student.
- Students have access to SEMO mentors to ensure they are taking the courses they need to match up with their intended major.
- The transfer equivalencies lock in to the course catalogue at the year of the student’s enrollment in the program.
- Students’ application fee to SEMO is waived.
- Students have access to online degree audits while they are enrolled in community colleges, and the community colleges send transcripts at the end of each semester at no cost to the student.
SEMO has partnered with five area community colleges and hopes to expand across the state in the next year. Since the launch in spring 2017, close to 200 students have enrolled in the program.
“Right now, several students a day are signing up for the program, which is great because it shows that we’re filling a real need,” Lockhart said. “But it’s also overwhelming because we didn’t realize that many would want to participate.”
Learn more
Lockhart will share more about the program and lessons learned in her session “Transfer Mentor Program” at the 2018 AACRAO Technology and Transfer Conference.
“I’m excited to see what other states are doing and get feedback on our program,” Lockhart said. “I love sharing and discussing with colleagues at conferences -- people always ask questions and have ideas you haven’t thought about.”
Join Lockhart and other colleagues addressing transfer issues at the 2018 AACRAO Technology and Transfer Conference, July 8-10 in Minneapolis.