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

2. 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

3. A Place to Begin Define “transfer student”

4. 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

5. 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 We’ve focused almost solely on the cohort Seniors, sophomores, students of color, transfers

6. 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.

7. 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

8. Areas of Focus Defining Transfer Students Recruiting and Entry Services Existing Services Advising and Academic Policies/Procedures Transfer Center and Services Data and Research

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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)?

13. 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

14. 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

15. Transfer Center and Services Campus structures are different; but economic challenges are common to all IUPUI’s response: a gear set model for transfer students How will it work? Plans for the first year of operation revolve around data intake

16. Assessment Collection Model Needs Assessment Process Assessment Outcomes Assessment

17. Start with Baseline Data What do you have? What do you need? Where will you get it?

18. 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?

19. Initial Data Set from IUPUI Transfer success by major, gender, ethnicity Credit hour enrollment by school Enrollment patterns Success rates by feeder institution

20. 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/)

21. 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

22. Contact Information Cathy Buyarski cbuyarsk@iupui.edu 278-4722 Gayle Williams gawillia@iupui.edu 274-4118